// Matalan is poised to fall into the hands of lenders following the Friday deadline for rescue bids

// Matalan founder John Hargreaves is seeking to take back control of the business

Lenders are preparing to take control of Matalan as investors begin snapping up retail chains amid the rising inflation.

Rescue bids were submitted on Friday for the retailer, which last week secured a six-month deadline extension for its £350 million debt repayment.

The lending arm of Invesco is among a trio of senior bondholders that will decide the fate of the retailer, The Telegraph reported.

Subscribe to Retail Gazette for free

Sign up here to get the latest news straight into your inbox each morning

Bids were on Friday being considered after a deadline of 12pm was extended to allow interested parties to finalise offers.

Matalan founder John Hargreaves is seeking to take back control of the business and is understood to be bidding alongside Wall Street fund Elliott Management.

He faces opposition from Sir Michael Hintze’s CQS and Napier Park. They are among a separate group of hedge funds that have bought into Matalan’s junior debt and want to take control of the company.

Flacks Group has also made a bid for Matalan, its chairman said. City sources said that Asda, Morrisons and Next had been encouraged to make bids for Matalan by its advisers, but declined to make offers.