Simon Berwin has acquired a 4.25 per cent stake in Moss Bros from founding family shareholders the Gee family.

The family had been in negotiations this month over the future of its 5 per cent stake in the menswear retailer.

A trust represented by Simon Berwin, boss of the Leeds-based brand and suit supplier Berwin & Berwin, has bought the 4.25 per cent holding, weeks after it is thought to have approached Baugur about buying a slice of its 29 per cent shareholding in Moss Bros (Retail Week, April 25).

Berwin said he hoped to help give “harmony and positivity” to Moss Bros. “We are just investors. They are the third-biggest suit company in the UK and we are one of the largest suppliers. We will see, while working at arm’s length, what we can bring.”

Rowland Gee said: “My brother Nigel and I, following recent events, were presented with an opportunity to sell the majority of our remaining holdings in Moss Bros to a party that can both influence and add value to this sound company.