Seaham Investments has confirmed it now owns a 51 per cent stake in Instore.

It acquired a 20.4 per cent share from Tradegro to add to its existing 30.6 per cent. Tradegro retains a 15 per cent share in the retailer.

As a condition of Seaham’s acquisition of the stake, three Tradegro directors stepped down from their posts as members of Instore's board last week.

Instore’s independent directors continue to warn shareholders not to accept the 5p-a-share offer from Seaham, arguing it “significantly undervalues” the retailer.

It is not known how the other, non-Tradegro, shareholders have responded to the offer, but the offer will be held open by Seaham for “a while”, according to Jonathan Grassi of KBC Peel Hunt, financial adviser to Seaham.