Frasers Group is reportedly looking to tighten its grip on Debenhams, formerly Boohoo Group, with an offer of a cash injection to the retailer, which is going through debt refinancing talks.

Mike Ashley, the man behind Frasers Group, has reportedly demanded a meeting with Debenhams chair Tim Morris to discuss the possibility of becoming a lender to the retailer, as was first reported by The Telegraph.

In a letter to Morris sent through Frasers Group’s lawyers White & Case, Frasers said it “has been seeking to arrange an urgent meeting between Mr Ashley and you as the chairman of Boohoo for several weeks”.

Frasers said it was “seeking an urgent meeting to engage with Boohoo on a number of urgent matters including the refinancing of Boohoo’s debt and/or an injection of additional monies if required.

“Frasers stands ready and able to assist Boohoo with any refinancing in order that Boohoo has a suitable and sustainable path forward,” it added.

Debenhams is currently in discussions with lenders about securing a £175m debt refinancing package – of which £50m will come from an asset-backed lender, who will take security over company property.

The remaining £125m will be raised by refinancing an existing two-year loan taken out in October, which Ashley described at the time as “the worst refinancing deal that a public company has done in living memory”.

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