Moss Bros pursuit hots up

FASHION entrepreneur Shami Ahmed has stepped up his pursuit of Moss Bros, saying he will raise his offer to 50p a share. Shares in the men's retail chain rose 19% to 43p, valuing Moss at more than £39m.

Ahmed, the man behind Joe Bloggs jeans, said the offer was conditional on due diligence, but would not be below 45p. He said he could back any offer with debt finance from Bank of Scotland and equity underwritten by a Rowland family trust.

But he insisted that a formal offer could not be made until Moss opened its books and his backers were able to carry out due diligence work.

Moss has previously rejected Ahmed's advances, questioning whether he could fund a deal. It said it would respond to the latest proposal next week, and that it had appointed NM Rothschild to advise it.

Ahmed has previously said he would offer at least 40p a share. Earlier this month the Takeover Panel told Ahmed he had until 5 April to decide whether to make a formal bid.