Marks hangs on to FCUK stake

Founder and chief executive of French Connection Stephen Marks has abandoned talks to sell the business to a venture capitalist.

Last March, he approached private equity houses to discuss the possible sale of all or part of his 52 per cent stake. At that time. the retailer's share price was at a low of 900p. However, it has since risen, and Marks is no longer interested in selling.

'Like many retailers, Marks was thinking about selling because the share price was so low,' said a spokeswoman. 'But the talks were very preliminary and have now ended.'

His decision to halt talks emerged this week, after French Connection's share price rocketed to a record high of just over£15. The share price had risen steadily since the retailer posted strong full-year results.