Selfridges: Bidders eye a trophy bride, but this store will be high maintenance

It might be a strange time to go bargain hunting on the high street, at least if it is the companies that one is buying rather than the products. Retailers are at the peak of a consumer spending boom, and analysts are worried the future is grim. At the very least, the high street is becoming more competitive.

But recently there seems to have been a bid bonanza for the traditional department store. For example Allders was bought by property company Minerva, and House of Fraser has been the subject of a failed bid. With last week's rumours of potential offers for Selfridges, the trend looks to carry on.

Selfridges has shown substantial promise under recently departed chief executive Vittorio Radice, with its West End flagship performing well, two stores in the North and new openings scheduled in Birmingham and Glasgow.

Now Tom Hunter, who tried and failed to get his hands on both House of Fraser and Allders, is thought to be preparing a bid, although he has not yet revealed his hand. If he puts a formal offer forward, he will trigger a fight between an array of retailers keen to bag this prestigious brand.

More importantly, the property companies will be very keen to get their hands on Selfridges. It owns the freehold of the Oxford Street store, an attractive target valued at £358m, as well as the new premises in Glasgow and Birmingham. The property constitutes much of its £500m market value. It is believed that British Land and Minerva are taking a look.

The rich or stupid could also be tempted, given the kudos that owning Selfridges would garner.

The company's trading is also in good shape. Despite the central London congestion charge, an uncertain economic environment and the closure of the main Tube line running down Oxford Street, it held its sales figures at that site and boosted sales by 8 per cent overall.

However, it is not clear whether Mr Hunter will take the plunge. His advisers are understood to be talking to the company over the weekend. But analysts and shareholders are understandably sceptical after his previous two failures.

It is likely that the bid would have to be agreed with management, or if not, very expensive. This is because Selfridges' management is admired, including the new chief executive and former finance director Peter Williams. Shareholders are therefore likely to hope for a bid of over £600m, or 400p per share – 50p higher than the figure being touted by Mr Hunter.

Given these obstacles, there are other targets for the keen bidder. House of Fraser is thought to be still attractive to some, while smaller operators such as James Beattie are not valued highly on the stock market at the moment. Trophy hunters and the ridiculously rich might be able to afford Selfridges, but an astute Scottish businessman like Mr Hunter is less likely to go the distance.