Fashion retailer Blue Inc has opted not to pursue an IPO and instead intends to place shares privately with new investors, it is understood.

The decision is thought to have been prompted by concerns about the performance of shares of newly listed retailers which, in the recent spate of IPOs, have frequently fallen in the days following their floats.

With prominent exceptions such as Poundland, high-profile retail IPOs such as AO.com and Pets at Home this year are trading at below their flotation value.

The recent share price crash of Asos, following its profit warning earlier this month, and Supergroup, on the back of a derating after disappointing first quarter sales, have also spooked some investors.

It is understood that Blue Inc has caught the eye of several institutional investors but the turbulent conditions have led to any potential share sale being conducted away from the pressure-cooker environment of the public market.

Blue Inc, which is being advised by Cantor Fitzgerald, was set to unveil its offer price tomorrow. The IPO was thought to value the firm at £60m.

Etailer MandM Direct this week opted for a sale rather than an IPO that had been scheduled for this month. Fat Face pulled its IPO last month, which boss Anthony Thompson put down to “retail IPO indigestion”.

This week B&M Bargains and My Sale, the etailer backed by Sir Philip Green, began trading on the stock market.

B&M, in which unconditional trading started on Tuesday, set its offer price at 270p, valuing the discount retailer at £2.7bn and catapulting it into 10th place by market capitalisation. Today, it was trading slightly above its float price.

MySale’s shares slumped 17% in its first two days of trading after confusion when its shares appeared to be trading at 2.26p rather than 226p.

The retailer was forced to issue a clarification after an error inputting its price led to auto-selling.

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