Ex-Missguided owner Alteri Investors is among parties in talks to snap up luxury footwear brand Kurt Geiger.
Discussions are thought to be at an early stage and were not being carried out on an exclusive basis, Sky News reported.
Various other parties are also exploring bids for the footwear retailer, which has been owned by private equity company Cinven since 2015.
Cinven has hired Bank of America to supervise an auction of the chain, with sources citing an asking price of around £400m.
Buyout firms and luxury goods groups are thought to have been looking into offers for the luxury chain in recent months.
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Alteri Investors and Cinven declined to comment to Sky News.
Kurt Geiger posted record profits in its latest annual results, despite a slowdown in luxury across the wider market.
The footwear brand’s profits hit £40m for the year to February, as shoppers increasingly sought out “affordable luxury”.
The results came as high end competitors suffered a decline in sales, with Burberry recently demoted from the FTSE 100.
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