Debs' chief facing fresh battle

DEBENHAMS chief executive Belinda Earl is to meet private equity firms CVC Capital and Texas Pacific early this week to thrash out a deal to keep her on at the department store.

Earl, who had previously agreed a package with rival bidder Permira, is likely to switch allegiance along with finance director Matthew Roberts.

The news follows an agreed £1.66bn, 455p-a-share bid by CVC Capital and Texas Pacific on Friday, which trumped Permira's 425p-a-share offer.

Under the Permira deal, Earl and Roberts were to take 6.9% of Debenhams. The fact that the pair had been working with Permira since the early stages of the negotiations has already attracted criticism. Now the revelation that they are considering a similar arrangement with the new bidder has created further unease. One investor said: 'This is a disgrace. It is the most transparent conflict of interest I have ever seen.'

Ex-Homebase chairman John Lovering has agreed to be chairman if the deal goes through. Permira's position is still unclear, though sources said the company was 'seriously considering' a counter bid over the next few weeks, which some analysts estimated could be as high as 475p a share.