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Cashed-up retail investor Jan Cameron has upped her stake in Pumpkin Patch to just over 6.3 per cent less than a month after Briscoe's boss Rod Duke also took a bigger position in the children's clothing company.
The move comes amid growing talk from market commentators that the retailer's share price is now so low it is open to a potential takeover bid.
While neither Duke nor Cameron are being named as bidders Pumpkin Patch's share price is obviously proving attractive despite the current downturn in retail as it retains a strong brand image.
During trading yesterday Pumpkin Patch hit $1.37, the lowest it has traded since it first listed in June 2004. Back then its initial public offer price was $1.25 and its first day of trading saw the company's shares rise to $1.32.
Cameron has been increasing her stake in the company since December, paying an average of just under $1.60 for 10,588,547 shares during the time.
Duke paid $1.60 per share to increase his stake from 8.37 per cent to 9.38 per cent on June 11.
Cameron, who made her money selling outdoor clothing retailer Kathmandu for around $275 million in 2006, has been on a spending spree since September last year when she began slowly upping her stake in Postie Plus from around 8 per cent to its current level of 15.096 per cent.
Last month she reached a deal to buy Postie's Arbuckle business for an undisclosed sum. Pumpkin Patch closed up 8c yesterday at $1.48.
