Conran asked to revisit his past with bid to buy Habitat

Sir Terence Conran has been approached by four venture capital firms to become involved in a buyout of Habitat, the home furnishings retailer he founded in the 1960s.

Habitat is now owned by Ikea, the Swedish retail group, but has not made a profit for 10 years. Ikea has considered selling it in the past and may be tempted to do a deal.

The venture capital firms have contacted Sir Terence about him becoming involved in an advisory capacity, although he would have no involvement in the day-to-day running of the company.

"A lot of people have asked me about buying it back," Sir Terence said in an interview with The Independent. Asked how many, he said: "Four, one pure venture capital company and three others with retail interests. If someone did buy it I'd be happy to get involved again. I wouldn't buy it back myself, I've gone there and done that."

He indicated that he might have a financial stake in Habitat. "I might have some options," he said, smiling. "I would like to help re-energise the business."

Habitat has 78 stores including 38 in the UK. Total sales last year were €417m (£266m). However, retail experts say the group has lost its way with a poor product offering and drab stores. Staff are demoralised and feel Habitat is regarded by its Swedish owners as of secondary interest to Ikea.

If Sir Terence does return to Habitat, it would be an emotional event for the 71-year-old design guru who opened the first Habitat store in London in 1964. It formed the basis of the Storehouse Group, which came to include Mothercare, Bhs and Heal's before Sir Terence left in 1990.

He is now working on a new furniture range called Content by Conran with Christie-Tyler, the furniture group. It will be launched to the trade in January and available in stores next summer. Sir Terence said: "The best thing Habitat could do is take this range of furniture but I don't think they will because it is all so Ikea-fied now."