Deadline looms on rescue deal for All Saints

Fashion chain All Saints must complete a rescue buy-out deal by tomorrow evening or face the possibility of being put into administration.

Lloyds Banking Group, the retailer's lender, is engaged in talks with All Saints about finding buyers for the stakes owned by Kaupthing and Glitnir, the Icelandic banks.

Lloyds, which has lent 28.5 million to the company, has placed accountancy firm KPMG on standby to initiate administration proceedings as early as Wednesday morning.

All Saints has about 2,000 staff in 63 stores and 47 concessions in the UK, Europe, the United States and Russia.

A consortium led by US private equity firm Goode Partners emerged as the likely candidate for the Icelandic banks' holdings earlier this month. But its position has weakened following the exit of M1, a group co-founded by a former Lebanese prime minister, and MSD Capital.

It is understood that if a deal is done, Goode will share control of All Saints with Kevin Stanford, the retail magnate who co-founded the Karen Millen chain.

A Lloyds spokeswoman said talks were ongoing, while no-one from All Saints was available for comment.