FASHION chain New Look is still looking for new owners after the collapse of a £1.8 billion auction.

Bidders refused to meet the reserve price for the company set up by Weymouth businessman Tom Singh.

The current owners of the business, private equity firm Apax and Permira, had hoped to raise £2 billion from the sale.

That would have netted Mr Singh around £400 million.

But investors refused to pay more than £1.7bn because of fears of a high street consumer slowdown. New Look says it will stand firm on the asking price.

A spokesman for New Look said: "The sale process has now ceased principally because the main shareholders had a strong view on what the price should be. They were unwilling to sell for less and they ceased the process. There will be absolutely no impact on jobs and the businesses' long term plan remains in place."

He said the main shareholders could still sell in future, adding that private equity firms typically remain as the lead investor for around three to five years.

But with interest rates set to rise further New Look is looking a less attractive investment than it was six months ago. Bidders are thought to have baulked at the price due to the unproven international appeal of the brand.

New Look is the UK's third-largest womenswear retailer - sales reached £866 million to the end of March 2006. The company employs around 15,000 staff.

A successful sale would have netted Apax and Permira around £1.3billion between them.

New Look was attracting interest from a number of large private equity houses including CVC, Blackstone and Kohlburg Kravis Roberts.

The auction process was launched in March and three bidders are reported to have had access to the books.

But no formal bids were filed for the auction and other potential bidders, such as Dubai-based retailer BC Partners, withdrew their interest.