Deal expected in days
Matalan chief executive John King has revealed that the retailer is close to selling its Lee Cooper brand. King said that the jeans clothing brand is under due diligence by a third party and he expects a deal to be announced before Matalan files its end-of-year figures on Wednesday. King confirmed that the buyer is not a rival retailer. However, reports over the weekend named the buyer as Emiresque Capital, a private equity firm with links to India and the Middle East.

Matalan has been searching for a buyer for Lee Cooper since October last year. The brand was bought by the retailer in 2001 for£45 million, although at the time it was put up for sale, it was valued at closer to£20 million.

Shortly after Matalan announced its intention to sell the jeans brand, Retail Week reported that it had received some interest from a number of private investors. Names in the frame included Barclays Private Equity, former Austin Reed boss Roger Jennings and former Lee Cooper chief Paul Hick.

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