Listed footwear retailer Shoe Zone is preparing a bid for rival footwear brand Brantano.
The listed retailer is up against Edinburgh Woollen Mill to buy the distressed retailer. A bid could be placed this week, according to Sky News.
Brantano, owned by venture capitalist Alteri Investors, filed for administration last week following difficult trading conditions.
The retailer has been in trouble since January last year when it first filed for administration, putting its 200-store estate at risk. Alteri bought back 140 shops and the remainder closed.
Alteri is also looking to secure a buyer for Jones Bootmaker, which filed for administration just a day before Brantano.
Shoe Zone’s latest results show that sales dropped by 4.2% to £159.8m over the year, but its profits before tax rose by 1.1% from £10.1m in 2015 to £10.3m.
PwC is running the Brantano auction and KPMG is running the Jones sale process.
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