N Brown’s takeover by the controlling Alliance family may be going smoothly so far, but it’s not without pain as news emerges that the company is cutting jobs at its HQ.

The restructuring at its Manchester office is likely to mean over 100 job losses.

It’s all part of the company reshaping itself for sustainable growth and reports suggest it has begun consultations with staff members who will potentially be affected by its move.

In a stock exchange statement it stressed that the restructuring is seen as essential for getting the business on a more sound financial footing and targeting growth long term.

The redundancies are believed to be happening in a range of departments including buying, merchandising, trading, logistics, finance, data and creative. Staff affected will leave by the end of this month.

Meanwhile, Sky news reported on Monday that shortly before the agreed offer was announced, a bid was tabled by larger peer The Very Group.

Sources said it was lower than the 40p a share offer from Joshua Alliance and there’s been no suggestion that Very is prepared to make a higher offer.

Very reportedly had been eyeing N Brown for some time even though it’s exploring its own sale for a suggested valuation of around £2 billion.