Next has withdrawn from the bidding process to acquire Arcadia’s Topshop brand, despite previously being pinned as the frontrunner to snap up the fashion retailer.

A statement from Next said it has “withdrawn from the process to acquire any, or all, of the Arcadia Group from the administrator, as our consortium has been unable to meet the price expectations of the vendor”.

Next, which was bidding as part of a joint venture with private equity firm Davidson Kempner, was previously touted as one of the strongest candidates to acquire the Topshop business from administration.

Next’s withdrawal from the bidding process clears the way for other bidders including Chinese fashion etailer Shein and DKNY owner G-III Apparel.

US firm Authentic Brands is also in the running to snap up the fashion retailer and has reportedly engaged in talks with JD Sports to potentially run the operations of Topshop’s estate if its bid is successful.

Next said it “wishes the administrator and future owners well in their endeavours to preserve an important part of the UK retail sector”.

Earlier this week, Arcadia, which also owns chains including Outfit, Miss Selfridge and Dorothy Perkins, said it would close 30 stores by the end of this month, resulting in 700 redundancies.

The fashion group has axed 1,000 jobs since falling into administration last year, with 13,000 jobs at risk overall.