It is understood that he has already approached Laxey Partners about acquiring its 28.6 per cent stake in the company.
The move would see Hunter branch out of fashion, where he has a 5 per cent stake in Philip Green's Bhs and owns shoe chain Office.
Wyevale was locked in a boardroom battle with rebel shareholder Laxey Partners last year, which led to private equity interest in the group.
Last year, Cinven agreed to acquire Laxey's stake, but pulled out of the deal after the board refused to open the books. Reports show that Bridgepoint appointed boutique investment bank Greenhill to examine a bid.
Analyst Seymour Price claimed the speculation does not add up, because the 80-plus centres would need a 'considerable amount of capital expenditure' spent on top of borrowings to buy the business and considerable debt.
'Moreover, he would not be prepared to pay the mooted target price of 580p and we cannot see a deal being done at under that price,' the analysts confirmed.
Hunter's spokesperson said: 'I am not making any comment at all.'
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