Next is closing in on a deal to add Russell & Bromley (R&B) to its stable of brands as another prominent retail name prepares to disappear from the high street.
Sky News has learnt that the fashion chain and its bidding partner, the stock clearance specialist Retail Realisation, could strike a deal to buy R&B as soon as Wednesday.
People close to the situation cautioned that an agreement had yet to be struck and it remained possible that it could fall apart.
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However, Next and Retail Realisation are understood to have emerged as the clear frontrunners to acquire the 145 year-old family-owned retailer.
Newspaper reports at the weekend suggested that the groups which own fashion brands Bench and Weird Fish were also in the running for R&B.
Sky News revealed earlier this month that Next had partnered with Retail Realisation on the deal, with a transaction likely to spell the end for the shoe chain’s 37 stores.
Next would become the owner of Russell & Bromley’s brand, with Retail Realisation, which is affiliated with high street investor Modella Capital, taking charge of a stock liquidation process.
Next has, however, stepped away from pursuing a similar deal for LK Bennett, the fashion brand which filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators this month.
Employing more than 450 people, Russell & Bromley made its debut in 1880 with the opening of its first shop in Eastbourne.
Seven years earlier, George Bromley and Elizabeth Russell, both of whom hailed from shoemaking families, were married, paving the way for the establishment of the business.
Russell & Bromley is now run by Andrew Bromley, the fifth generation of his family to hold the reins.
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