TPG’s timing is telling. Its exit at Debenhams comes less than a week after the announcement that John Lovering, Debenhams’ chairman, was to leave the business, as it reported improved profits and said that it would begin investing in stores again.

For many observers, last week’s annual results marked a watershed as Debenhams finally emerged from the shadow of private equity ownership.

It raised £323 million in June in a fundraising that had been impeded by its unusual shareholder base, which was dominated by Baugur, the collapsed Icelandic investment fund, and TPG and CVC, two of its former private equity owners.

It desperately needed the cash to pay down the £900 million debt that was the legacy of its private equity days.

Mr Lovering took Debenhams private in 2003 in a deal backed by TPG, CVC and Merrill Lynch Private Equity.

His deputies were Rob Templeman, who became chief executive when Debenhams floated in 2006, and Chris Woodhead, finance director. The three had already established a reputation as a team of dealmakers for private equity.

Together, they rebuilt Homebase for Schroder Ventures, before selling it to GUS in 2002. Then they moved on to Halfords, the car equipment retailer, which was owned by CVC.

Mr Templeman has stayed on at Debenhams, to the surprise of some of his former colleagues, and is overseeing a shift to own-label products to boost profit margins and exert more control over stock at the group.

Last week, the company said that profits had risen 14 per cent to £125 million.

Merrill Lynch’s private equity unit became the first to bale out, last year. CVC then wrong-footed the Debenhams management by selling its stake shortly before the June fundraising. (Marcus Leroux)

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