Permira, the UK private equity firm, has won access to the books of Valentino Fashion Group for due diligence after it secured a near30 per cent stake in the Italian fashion house behind Hugo Boss.

The group said that the decision to allow Permira access came after it said that it was ready to extend its €35.65 a share offer for the stake in Valentino to the rest of the company. Valentino, whose core label boasts a celebrity clientele including Kate Winslet and Anne Hathaway, said Andrea Dona Dalle Rose had quit as a nonexecutive of the company just two days after the departure of fellow nonexecutive Roger Abravanel. The company said that it did not have a reason for the departures.

Meanwhile Carlyle, the US private equity firm that had also expressed interest in Valentino, said that it was evaluating all its options but had not decided whether it would launch a counter-bid. The shares closed up over 3 per cent at €36.43.

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