Ahmed building retail stakes
Moss Bros and Austin Reed waiting for indication of plans
June 27 2003
Clothing entrepreneur Shami Ahmed has continued to build stakes in UK menswear retailers Moss Bros and Austin Reed through the week.
The continued interest in both chains by the founder of the Joe Bloggs jeans brand has fuelled speculation that Ahmed sees potential for merging the two chains, which both specialise in the upmarket and formal end of the market. Howver, Ahmed has given no indication of any strategy, leaving the retailers guessing.
Ahmed has been building his stakes through investment house Cantor Fitzgerald, using the somewhat controversial contracts for difference, effectively a bet on the future share price. Cantor has transferred its voting rights to Ahmed in separate deals.
Cantor now holds 23.13 per cent of shares in Moss Bros, in which Ahmed formally has an interest in more than 20 per cent. It has also built up an 8 per cent stake in Austin Reed.
Both retailers have struggled for market share recently, although Moss Bros is further along the road to recovery than when Ahmed first showed an interest in the business 18 months. Austin Reed is nearing the end of a major refurbishment of its flagship Regent Street store, with the work having hit trade.
