Doc Martens bovver boots aim for £200m

The owners of Dr Martens, the British footwear brand, are seeking a price tag of as much as £200m from suitors, which is significantly more than was first expected.

The Griggs family put the company up for sale earlier this year by hiring advisers at Rothschild and second-round bids are due this week. The private equity firm Electra Partners is among those seeking to acquire Dr Martens, and suitors have been told they will have to pay up to £200m.

While Dr Martens were the boots of choice for skinheads in the 1970s, the brand has become far more fashionable in recent years and has expanded its offer to shoes and clothing.

The company delivered underlying profits of £22m for the year to March, driven by growing sales in more than 60 countries, including at stores in France, the US, Hong Kong, Sweden, Singapore and Canada.

However, sources said that trading over recent weeks had been "soft" at Dr Martens and have questioned whether the owners will be able to secure a lofty price tag of close to £200m.

Dr Martens is run by Max Griggs, whose father acquired the brand in 1960 from German owners.