Harvey Nichols has warned that if it does not find a buyer or receive a cash injection it will cease trading within a year. 

In newly published accounts, the luxury department store said one or more of the offers it was scrutinising would require the business 'to be in formal administration prior to sale'. 

Sir Dickson Poon, Harvey Nichols' Hong Kong owner, put the store up for sale in June and talks to sell part or all of the retailer are now at an advanced stage. 

Mike Ashley's Frasers Group, which owns House of Fraser and Sports Direct, has emerged as the front-runner to buy Harvey Nichols. An announcement on a deal could come as early as this week.

Harvey Nichols said that while it was 'actively pursuing' one or more bids, no offer had been accepted. No additional funding has been found, the company added.

No dividend is being paid to the company's shareholders and its accounts for the 52 weeks to 29 March 2025 have been prepared on 'a break-up basis'.  

The department store's latest accounts showed its sales fell from £78.1million in the 12 months to the end of March 2024 to £69.4million a year later.

Harvey Nichols' directors said the business had been adversely affected by currency movements and the cost of living squeeze. 

Luxury retailers have also faced pressure from the abolition of VAT-free shopping for overseas tourists and changes to the non-dom tax regime.  

Harvey Nichols reported a £178million pre-tax annual loss, largely the result of accounting write-downs on inter-company loans triggered by its break-up basis status. Group accounts will give a truer picture of performance.

Separate accounts for the department store's online arm showed losses widened to £17million in the period, including a £2.5million impairment charge on an intercompany loan. 

Harvey Nichols has recorded five successive years of losses, but a major investment in its London flagship store is understood to have improved its performance. 

It said trade was hit by 'weak consumer demand as a result of the lingering cost of living crisis', while also flagging the ongoing impact of the 'loss of tax-free shopping in the UK'. 

The group operates the main London flagship store in Knightsbridge, as well as the head office for the wider holding company Broad Gain Group. 

Advisers at FTI Consulting have been overseeing the sale process. 

Billionaire Mike Ashley, who owns Frasers Group, is understood to be the front-runner to buy Harvey Nichols. 

Retail giant Next was another potential candidate to buy Harvey Nichols, but is understood to no longer be involved in the process.  

Ashley told the Financial Times last week that Harvey Nichols was 'in a death spiral' and claimed he would be able to pay more than Next to acquire the retailer.

Ashley told the Financial Times: 'I don't think I'll be writing a huge cheque, because you've got to think about the future losses.

'If it was a little bit tough before, it is in a death spiral now.'

His comments will raise concerns among Harvey Nichols' 1,200 staff, as well as the future of its UK store portfolio, which also includes sites in Edinburgh and Leeds.

Harvey Nichols has told prospective purchasers that they will need to commit up to £60million of investment to fund the ongoing transformation of the department store group.

But some retail executives believe that number will be much higher if it is to be preserved in its current state.

Ashley told the Financial Times that he expected Harvey Nichols to be sold for less than £40million.

If the deal with Ashley goes ahead, it is likely that Harvey Nichols would be briefly placed into administration. 

If confirmed, the deal would strengthen Ashley's track record as the most prolific buyer of famous retail brands in Britain, having overseen earlier deals to buy businesses like House of Fraser, Jack Wills and Gieves & Hawkes. 

According to Sky News, a number of suppliers have raised concerns about Frasers being the new owner of Harvey Nichols following their experience of the group when it briefly owned the online premium fashion retailer Matchesfashion.  

Harvey Nichols traces its roots back to 1831, and had a spell as a public company, having floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1996. It was taken private again a few years later.

A spokesperson for Harvey Nichols said: 'As noted in our accounts, as of the date of approval of the accounts (July 30, 2026) the Group has received a number of bids and was actively pursuing one or more such bids with a view to concluding a transaction within the going concern period. 

'However, in a scenario where the Group or the Company is not sold to another party, additional funding will be required to ensure the Group can meet its liabilities as they fall due during the going concern assessment period. 

'No such additional funding has been agreed as at the date of approval of these financial statements, as they would not be necessary in the scenario of a successful sale, and therefore, if a sale is not completed and if no additional funding is provided, the Group will become a non-going concern. 

'Hence, the accounts were filed on a non-going concern basis.' 

Nick Stockley, a partner at law firm Mayo Wynne Baxter, said: 'Even though the Knightsbridge store has experienced losses, there is clearly still a demand to shop there.

'As with other retailers, it seems inevitable that the non-profitable stores will close.

'The potential buyer will want to get the stock at a reduced price on account of Harvey Nichols’ overall travails and then sell that stock online.

'This looks to be a case where the current owners will try to put a formal restructuring plan in place whilst it tries to raise further funding.

'The alternative to a restructuring plan is a complete sell off.

'Given Harvey Nichols’ financial position, a buyer is more likely to wait until the business sinks deeper into financial trouble and administration.'