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Frasers Group has emerged as the leading candidate to acquire Harvey Nichols, with Sky News reporting that the sale is expected to proceed through a pre-pack administration, FTI Consulting lined up as insolvency practitioner.
The complication is that suppliers already carry grievances from Frasers' short-lived ownership of Matchesfashion, and whoever wins control faces a capital commitment of up to £60m ($80.9m) to keep the retailer operational.
The deal would end 35 years under Hong Kong billionaire Dickson Poon, who bought the chain in 1991.
Harvey Nichols itself dates to 1831, was listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1996, and subsequently returned to private ownership. Poon appointed FTI Consulting to manage the sale.
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