Mike Ashley's Frasers Group has abandoned its pursuit of luxury handbag maker Mulberry after a series of rejected offers, expressing serious concerns about the company's governance and commercial strategy.

The retail group, which owns Sports Direct and is Mulberry's second-largest shareholder with a 37 per cent stake, made a final bid of 150p per share this week, valuing the business at £111 million. However, the offer was unanimously rejected by Mulberry's board as "untenable".

The takeover attempt was effectively blocked by Challice, Mulberry's largest shareholder with a 56 per cent stake. The group, controlled by Singaporean entrepreneur Christina Ong and her husband, had previously stated it had "no interest in either selling its Mulberry shares to Frasers or providing Frasers with any irrevocable or other undertaking".

In a statement to investors, Frasers Group expressed its disappointment while raising concerns about Mulberry's future direction: "Frasers continues to believe that market headwinds, and a clear lack of commercial plan, place the company in a very difficult financial position."

The failed bid comes after Mulberry reported a £34 million pre-tax loss in its last financial year, with the luxury brand warning of slowing spending among affluent shoppers in both the UK and Asia.

Despite walking away from the takeover, Frasers Group maintained it remains a "long-term supporter" of Mulberry and has called for a seat on the company's board. The group also criticised Mulberry's recent £10.75 million emergency share placing, stating it "would not like to see another scenario where the board chooses to exclusively engage with Challice in private on significant matters".

Under UK takeover rules, Frasers Group cannot make another offer for Mulberry for six months unless specific conditions are met, such as the board agreeing to an offer or a material change in circumstances at the company.

The news caused Mulberry's shares to fall more than 6 per cent on Wednesday afternoon, though they recovered some ground later in the day.

---