Property company Minerva has said it is interested in buying struggling British department store chain Allders.

Minerva said it was considering a bid of 160p a share for the 75% of Allders it does not already own, valuing the company at about �125m ($198m).

News of Minerva's bid, which represents a 33% premium over Allders' latest closing share price, boosted the department store's stock by nearly 4% early on Friday.

Allders shares have now jumped by nearly 25% since Wednesday, when reports of a takeover attempt first started to circulate.

But Minerva stressed on Friday that talks were at an early stage, and would not necessarily lead to a firm offer.

Takeover target

Speculation that Allders could be taken over has grown since September, when the firm warned it would miss its financial targets because of a surprise slowdown in sales.

The weaker sales came despite continued strength in UK consumer spending, fuelled by low interest rates.

Icelandic retail group Baugur, which unsuccessfully tried to buy Top Shop owner Arcadia last year, and is thought to be looking for alternative UK acquisitions, had been named as a likely suitor.

Croydon-based Allders is the UK's fourth biggest department store group with a network of 45 outlets, most of them in the Midlands and South East of England.

It recently opened a store in premises formerly occupied by Dutch retail group C&A on London's Oxford Street, one of the UK's busiest shopping areas.

Allders' profits for the six months to late March fell 34% on the year to �10.5m. It is due to announce results for the full year on 27 November.