Marks & Spencer clothing sales continue to suffer

The complex deal gives shareholders the chance to cash in their shares for what is likely to be a modest premium.

Any shares M&S buys back it will then cancel. This benefits those who choose not to sell as each remaining share will be worth more of the company.

The news came as the troubled retailer said like-for-like sales had slipped 5.2% in the 10 weeks to 18 September.

I'm not looking for excuses Stuart Rose, M&S Check the M&S share price

The poor performance comes in the wake of a 2.8% slide in like-for-like sales over the three months to 10 July.

Its offer range of 332-380p for the share buyback could equate to a 3.9% loss on Monday's closing price of 345.5p - or a potential premium of 10%, M&S said.

The offer is lower than the 400p a share offered by Philip Green in his abortive takeover.

The reduced price is likely to disappoint shareholders. But some argue that Mr Green offered more because he was seeking to gain control of the company and thus needed to pay a premium.

Shares in the group had fallen 4p to 341.5p by 0720 GMT.

Tough clothing market

M&S added that clothing sales over the summer had been difficult, particularly in womenswear, lingerie and childrenswear.

Homeware sales were also weak, with the company saying its designs were too contemporary to appeal to its customers.

The figures are in sharp contrast to clothing retailer Next which saw sales surge 15% over the summer.

M&S SHARE BUYBACK Offer at 332-380p a share Gains of up to 10% on Monday's price for sellers Non-sellers can benefit too Funded by sale of financial services business Small shareholders own 20% of firm Offer closes on 22 October How the M&S buyback will work

Recent government figures also showed high street sales rising in August, led by a 3.7% rise in textiles, clothing and footwear sales.

M&S admitted the sales figures were poor, adding that this summer's battle with Philip Green could have had a negative effect on the business.

"I'm not looking for excuses - we are where we are," chief executive Stuart Rose said.

"It's been a rather funny summer and there's been a lot of distraction around the place with the bid offer going on... I think it has a knock-on effect on external perceptions of the business."

'Unfair'

However experts said that the poor performance was not a reflection of the skills of the new chief executive who was drafted into the post to see off Mr Green's �9.1bn takeover bid .

Experts say its too early to pass judgement on Mr Rose's record

"It would be unfair to judge Rose on the figures," said Colin Morton, fund manager at Rensburg Fund Managers.

"He's only been there for a month or so, so these are not his ranges. The earliest you'll be able to judge his performance will be around early 2005 when his ranges and decisions start coming through."

When Mr Rose was parachuted into the company he unveiled a raft of changes designed to boost profits and revive sales at the ailing high street name.

Under his pledge to simplify the firm and concentrate on its core retail side the group sold its financial services arm, bought the Per Una clothing range from designer George Davies and cut costs by �250m a year by closing stores.

The company's Lifestyle concept store in Gateshead was first for the chop.