Laura Ashley increases stake in Moss Bros
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Although the Moss Bros board has allowed Baugur to carry out due diligence, members of the retailer's founding Moss and Gee families, who together hold 26pc of the company, oppose the move on the grounds that it undervalues the company.
Meanwhile, a renegade shareholder, John Hanson, the founder of the rival Greenwoods menswear chain, has been looking to assemble a rival consortium to bid for the chain.
Laura Ashley is 34pc owned by Malayan United Industries. Under the leadership of the current Chief Executive Lillian Tan, the company has returned to profitability, posting profits of £12 million for the year 2006/2007. In April 2007 the company launched its first range of organic cotton fashion - the Archive Collection, based on Laura Ashley styles and prints from the 1960’s and 70’s.