Next plots swoop on family-owned shoe chain Russell & Bromley

Next, the precocious thoroughfare manner giant, is plotting a swoop connected Russell & Bromley, the 145 year-old footwear retailer.

Sky News has learnt that Next, which has a marketplace capitalisation of £16.6bn, is among the parties successful talks with Russell & Bromley's advisers astir a deal.

City sources said this play that a fig of different suitors were besides successful the framework to marque an concern successful the chain, though their identities were unclear.

The talks travel amid the highest Christmas trading period, with retail bosses hopeful that user assurance holds up implicit the coming weeks contempt the stuttering economy.

Russell & Bromley confirmed respective weeks agone that it had drafted successful Interpath, the advisory firm, to research options for raising caller financing for the business.

The concatenation trades from 37 stores and employs much than 450 people.

It was formed successful 1880 erstwhile the archetypal Russell & Bromley store opened successful Eastbourne.

Seven years earlier, George Bromley and Elizabeth Russell, some of whom hailed from shoemaking families, were married, paving the mode for the constitution of the business.

Russell & Bromley is present tally by Andrew Bromley, the 5th procreation of his household to clasp the reins.

Billie Piper, the histrion and singer, is the existent look of the marque arsenic it tries to entreaty to younger consumers arsenic portion of a five-year turnaround plan.

If it materialised, an acquisition oregon concern by Next would people the latest successful a drawstring of marque deals struck by Britain’s astir palmy London-listed manner retailer.

In caller years, it has bought brands specified arsenic Cath Kidston, Joules and Seraphine, the maternitywear retailer for knockdown prices.

Next besides owns Made.com, the online furnishings retailer, and FatFace, the precocious thoroughfare manner brand.

Under Lord Wolfson, its seasoned main executive, Next has defied the wider precocious thoroughfare gloom to go 1 of the UK's best-run businesses.

Its Total Platform infrastructure solution has enabled it to plug successful different retail brands successful bid to supply logistics, e-commerce and integer work capabilities.

Both Victoria's Secret and Gap besides person partnerships with Next utilizing the Total Platform offering.

It was unclear whether immoderate woody betwixt Next and Russell & Bromley would impact acquiring the latter's marque outright oregon making an concern into the business.

This weekend, Next declined to comment, portion neither Russell & Bromley nor Interpath could beryllium reached for comment.

In a connection successful October, Mr Bromley said: “We are presently exploring opportunities to assistance instrumentality Russell & Bromley into the adjacent signifier of our ‘Re Boot’ vision.

“Since the announcement of the ‘Re Boot’ earlier this twelvemonth we person made important progress, positioning america good to physique connected our momentum and proceed on our journey.

“We are looking guardant to moving with our advisory squad to unafraid the indispensable concern to accelerate our enlargement plans.”