Sir Tom Hunter calls in financial advisers to review options for the fashion footwear retailer
Julia Finch

The Office shoe shop chain could be up for sale after its owner, Sir Tom Hunter, called in financial advisers to review options for the business.

The Scottish retail entrepreneur – who three years ago pledged to give away £1bn to good causes in his lifetime – has appointed corporate finance specialists Hawkpoint and US investment boutique Financo to consider whether to sell Office after Hunter's West Coast Capital (WCC) private equity group received several approaches for the fashion-led shoe chain. It is expected to be valued at £150m-£200m.

Hunter bought Office in 2003 for some £16m and since then has trebled the number of Office outlets to 124. It is one of the flagships of his retail portfolio, which also includes a stake in House of Fraser, Wyevale garden centres, and fashion chain USC – which dipped in and out of administration last year.

WCC has been hit by the recession. Hunter had to write off investments in housebuilders Crest Nicholson and McCarthy & Stone and earlier this year West Coast Capital Holdings filed accounts showing a pre-tax loss last year of £83m. However, that was an improvement on the £190m loss recorded 12 months earlier.

A spokesman for Hunter said WCC was not in any hurry to sell the shoe business. "We are happy to hold on to Office," he said. "It throws off a lot of cash. There is no pressure to sell. Wyevale is going in the right direction, House of Fraser is going well and so is USC." He added that Hunter was considering a number of acquisitions. "We are looking at one or two [opportunities] right now, in retail and property."

1. The 70s was a fun, bold period in fashion. I loved it. There was lots of colour, prints and strangely shaped trousers. But then I've always loved Abba, so that suited me just fine. I spent my childhood dressed like Agnetha.

2. The day I got signed up as a model, aged 19, I wore black leggings, tiny hot pants and a tight top. I had to show off my figure at the agency, so they could see what my body was like. It was the closest thing to being naked, I guess.

3. Karl Lagerfeld is my hero. In many ways he made me. He's the most charismatic designer I've worked with. Photographers are crucial in making clothes look timeless. Steven Meisel had such a distinct style that his photos still work 20 years on.

4. On a day-to- day basis, I wear jeans and T-shirts. Boring, but I have children, so no white clothes, and flat, comfortable shoes. A long way from my days in Versace, but I still wear my old Galliano dresses. I suppose they'd be classed as vintage these days.