HR Owen mystery bidder backs off

HR Owen has announced that preliminary discussions with a potential bidder have come to nothing, after the unnamed interested party decided it no longer has a strategic interest in making an offer for HR Owen, the retail chain announced. Chief executive of HR Owen, Nicholas Lancaster said: Whilst this unsolicited approach was an encouraging endorsement of our strategy to focus on our luxury and specialist dealerships, as a board, we are unanimous in our belief that HR Owen continues to have an excellent future and we remain confident that we will, over the coming years, deliver significant shareholder value.