Cinven walks away from Mothercare deal

Hopes that a private equity firm Cinven would bid for struggling maternity product retailer Mothercare have ended after it walked away from a deal.

Cinven's interest was reported last month, prompting a 4.6 per cent rise in Mothercare's share price. The retailer has endured a torrid time in the UK recently. It made a loss of £81.4m in the 28 weeks to 8 October, and it plans to close 111 loss-making UK town centre stores by March 2013, leaving it with 266 shops. It is also searching for a new chief executive, following the departure of Ben Gordon in November.

Alan Parker, the chairman, is leading the company until a replacement is found.