The owner of the Lee Cooper clothing brand is putting it up for sale seven years after acquiring it from Matalan, the discount retailer.
I understand that Sun European Partners, a private equity firm, has appointed investment bankers to sell Lee Cooper.
Sun has owned the business, which no longer manufactures clothing, since 2005. It bought Lee Cooper for £30.5m in partnership with The 180 Group and Emerisque Capital, two other investment firms.
The current owner plans to approach a group of potential trade bidders such as Iconix, which recently bought the football kit brand Umbro, to gauge their appetite for a deal.
Sports Direct (Other OTC: SDIPF.PK - news) , which has assembled a range of sports and leisurewear brands, is also likely to be sounded out.
People close to the process said Lee Cooper was likely to fetch about £40m from a sale.
Sun, which has appointed DC Advisory Partners to handle the process, declined to comment.