Sofa king Lord Kirkham has ended the £500m auction of his DFS chain and said he has no interest in selling it.

He told the Sunday Times: “I am categorically not interested in selling the business. I don’t need the money. I’m loaded.”

Private equity firms Advent International and Cinven had been interested in buying DFS. Former Schroders banker Alan Jacobs, who originally floated DFS in 1993, was running the proposed sale.

Kirkham rejected the suggestion that his decision to call off the auction was a tactic to achieve a higher price.

He said: “I can guarantee that in two months, three months, I will still own this business. It’s going nowhere.”

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