Karen Millen’s parent company Kaupthing has launched an auction for the fashion chain, with formal talks with bidders to kick off in the coming days.

The sales process for the fashion retailer is being led by Deloitte and comes after several weeks of deliberations by the retailer’s executive team, Sky News reports.

The retailer’s owner, Icelandic bank Kaupthing, has kicked off the auction process after received several unsolicited offers for Karen Millen earlier in the month.

It is understood Karen Millen stablemates Oasis and Warehouse are not part of the new sale process.

Kaupthing last explored the option of selling its multiple fashion businesses in late 2017 but abandoned its efforts, insisting at the time the market “does not currently recognise the value” of its brands.

The fashion retailer, which recorded a 2% uplift in sales to £162m and narrowed losses of £1.4m in the year to February 2018, currently has 1,700 employees and is run by former Bonmarche boss Beth Butterwick.