Laura Ashley Seeking Funding

Laura Ashley, founded in 1953, has seen its shares decline 41% after stating it was in talks with its lender to get sufficient funds to continue to trade.

The fashion and home retailer said if it could not get the "requisite level of funding" then it would need to "consider all appropriate options".

The company stated that trading was "challenging", and sales had fallen nearly 11% in the second half of 2019. Chairman Andrew Khoo said: "We acknowledge that recent trading conditions, in line with the overall UK retail market, have indeed been challenging,"

The poor performance of the company and the impact on its share price is rumoured to triggered a restriction on how much they can draw on their loan facility with US bank Wells Fargo.

Laura Ashley have stated that they welcome talks with the funders Wells Fargo and their majority shareholder, Malaysian group, MUI.