Struggling fashion and household goods retailer Laura Ashley has offloaded its 8 million pound stake in menswear chain Moss Bros to shore up its finances.

Laura Ashley, which blamed the wrong kind of weather for lower first-half profits in September, said its Bagleys Investments arm sold 9,499,937 shares in Moss Bros at a price of 84p per share on January 14th.

"The proceeds of the sale will enhance the financial position of Laura Ashley and will be used for additional working capital and other purposes," the firm said in a statement.

The 60-year-old firm, famous for its feminine and floral designs, said in September that profits in the 26 weeks to July 27th fell by £500,000 to £7.8m due to cold spring weather hitting summer fashion and the warm summer reducing home furnishing sales.

There was more bad news in December when the chain reported a 2% fall in retail sales in the first 19 weeks of the second half to December 7th. Analysts said it needed to overhaul its fashion ranges.

It said in September that it had £17.8m of net cash on July 27th and no bank borrowings.

Laura Ashley, which has more than 200 shops in the UK and 280 franchise stores overseas, said at the time that Christmas trading would be crucial, but has not yet updated the market on its festive performance.

Shares in the group rose 0.75p to 25.25p during mid-morning trading in London.

Moss Bros also rose by 4.5p to 95p.

PW

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