A knitwear and jersey brand has backed away from a possible £7m takeover of Hotter Shoes' owner.
WoolOvers Group was behind a mooted £6.8m deal for Skelmersdale-headquartered Unbound Group.
The possible deal was first revealed at the end of March in a move which saw shares in Unbound Group more than double in value.
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However, WoolOvers Group has now confirmed it does not intend to make an offer for the group.
Under the London Stock Exchange's takeover rules, WoolOvers can make or participate in an offer or possible offer for Unbound Group within the next six months.
Langholm Capital has backed Sussex-based WoolOvers Group since 2015.
The news comes comes after shares in Unbound Group had slumped after it warned its losses were expected to be higher than previously forecast.
The group said that "despite a cautionary outlook at the group's interim results, trading conditions in the second half of the financial year have been more challenging".
It added that "several external factors, including the extended period of hot weather, the impact of Royal Mail industrial action and broader economic conditions significantly impacted sales of our autumn/winter range in the final five months of the year".
As a result, the group said its full-year revenue is now expected to be between £53 and £54m, 3% to 4% growth on the prior year.
It also now expects to incur an adjusted pre-tax loss of between £4.25m and £4.75m.
Those figures were below the current consensus market expectations for the year to February 5, 2023, which are for a revenue of £57.7m and an adjusted pre-tax loss of £1.2m.
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