Nearly 3,000 jobs have been saved from the axe at a series of internationally-known womenswear chains after a private equity firm swooped in to buy the business as it teetered on the brink of collapse.

Alexon, owner of chains such as Ann Harvey and Kaliko employs 2,700 staff across more than 990 outlets in the UK and Europe, including an Ann Harvey store in the Merry Hill centre and concessions in Wolverhampton’s Beatties store and at the Co-op in Stafford, Debenhams at Merry Hill and House of Fraser in Birmingham.

It has been bought by Sun European Partners, owner of sofa chain ScS, for an undisclosed sum in a pre-pack administration deal that wipes out Alexon’s shareholders.

The widely-expected sale came shortly after Luton-based Alexon, which owns brands including Dash and Eastex, suspended its shares after it failed to find a solution to its funding problems.

The firm, one of a number of retailers hit by a consumer spending squeeze, warned earlier this month that profits would be “well below” expectations.

Will Wright of KPMG who led the sale, said there had been a “great deal of interest” in Alexon.

Jane McNally, Alexon’s boss, said the deal would enable the business to invest in its turnaround strategy, through restructuring stores and speeding up developments in its online business.