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Mulberry rejects £83m takeover bid from Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group

British handbag maker says it is raising cash for turnaround and does not need offer from Sports Direct owner

The luxury brand said it had considered the approach carefully and consulted its 56.1% majority shareholder Challice, controlled by the Singaporean entrepreneur Christina Ong, who had “no interest” in pursuing the possible offer. The brand said on Tuesday it had no intention of withdrawing the fundraising, and it would engage further with Frasers, a “committed and important investor in Mulberry” which had publicly stated that it would be willing to underwrite the placing. Mulberry – founded in 1971 by the entrepreneur Roger Saul and his mother, Joan, and best known for its leather goods, particularly women’s handbags – has struggled to carve out a place in the luxury market amid heavy competition and the post-Brexit ending of shopping tax breaks for tourists to the UK.

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