The company yesterday issued its first trading update, showing a drop in sales, since Icelandic investor Baugur abandoned a £40million bid proposal last month.

“It was a very large distraction for a very small management team,” said Mountford. “The business is confident, if a little bruised. Now we can concentrate on our three-year plan.”

Like-for-like sales in the 19 weeks to June 7 were down 1.5 per cent but tight controls meant the amount of stock more than six months old was cut by nearly half. Mountford said Moss Bros had repositioned itself and escaped “the mayhem of the bottom end” by a move to upmarket brands, such as Ben Sherman, Calvin Klein and Ted Baker.

One of the reasons Baugur pulled out was because retailer Laura Ashley had been building up a stake in Moss Bros. This went up to just over 10 per cent yesterday. Moss Bros shares closed unchanged at 40dp.