Karen Millen chief executive Mike Shearwood has stepped down from the Aurora board in a move that could accelerate a break-up of the group.

Karen Millen boss Mike Shearwood has stepped down from the Aurora board

Women’s clothing retailer Karen Millen has already been split off from the Aurora group and Shearwood’s exit from the board would allow a management buy-out of the brand, according to The Sunday Telegraph.

Icelandic bank Kaupthing owns a majority share of Aurora and is in the process of breaking up the group in order to make a sell-off of the individual brands easier.

The other brands in the Aurora group include Coast, Oasis and Warehouse.

Shearwood was chief executive of Aurora up until the spin-off of Karen Millen in 2012, but remained a director at the group after the split.

Filings at Companies House reveal Shearwood has now stepped down as director at Aurora.