In mid-July, the company disclosed it was talking to potential suitors. However, Whittard revealed this morning that it is no longer in talks with any parties regarding a possible offer for the company.
At its trading update last week, Whittard chairman Richard Rose warned that the July terrorist attacks in London would still be felt by Christmas. He added that some potential company buyers had been put off by the events.
About 20 of Whittard's 75 shops are in central London and at other tourist destinations. The company has also suffered from the discount trend affecting UK retail, which it believes drew business away from its 25 outlet stores.
Broker Numis said: 'Whittard is a very operationally geared business, with high gross margins and limited ability to take out costs in response to any downturn. On top of this, it relies heavily on the London market and on tourist customers, so has been particularly impacted by the July bombings.'
On early trading, shares in Whittard had dropped nearly 15 per cent.
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