Liberty attracts potential bidders for '£70m takeover'

Liberty is to be taken over in a deal which could value it at up to £70 million.

The Regent Street department store told the stock market today that it had received more than one approach which "may or may not lead to an offer being made". Its shares jumped 20p to 300p.

Controlling shareholder property group MWB, which owns a 68% stake, started looking for new backers or potential bidders back in July last year.

This month Liberty said it was looking at a sale and lease-back deal on its mock-Tudor building in Great Marlborough Street. This was valued at £28.5 million last year but is certain to have risen in value since then.

There is not likely to be a takeover until the property deal has been completed.

Reports today said the lead bidder was private equity group BlueGem Capital Partners, which was set up by former Merrill Lynch private equity managing director Marco Capello. He is said to be backing Liberty's management under chief executive Geoffroy de La Bourdonnaye.

Other bidders who have expressed an interest in the store, which is known for its fabrics and Liberty of London accessories, included luxury investor Robert Bensoussan and the Oriental trading group Li & Fung.

Liberty's sales increased 20% last year and the company is likely to have returned to profit for the first time in a decade after a strong Christmas performance.

The business was founded in 1875 by Arthur Lasenby Liberty, who occupied several premises on Regent Street. The store was built in 1924 out of the timbers of former Royal Navy ships HMS Impregnable and HMS Hindustan.