Fashion veteran Harold Tillman has made an approach to buy back Jaeger, it is understood.

Tillman, who ran Jaeger for a decade until 2012, is thought to have contacted owner Better Capital and requested a meeting. The move comes as Better Capital was forced to call in administrator Ernst & Young to its City Link parcel delivery business on Christmas Eve.

Tillman told the Mail on Sunday: “I feel a great sense of personal affection towards the brand. I would like the approach to be given due consideration by the shareholders at Better Capital.”

A Better Capital source told the paper that the transformation of Better Capital, which is being returned to its roots by chief executive Colin Henry, is progressing well and it was unlikely to consider bids other than a “very substantial cash offer”.