TWO of the UK's best-known fashion brands - Jaeger and Viyella - have been put up for sale by threads and clothing group Coats.

Chief executive Martin Flower said the group's efforts to revive both chains had fallen flat despite the consumer boom.

"Their potential is most likely to be realised by an owner with the skills and resources found in the UK fashion retail marketplace," he said.

The group's fashion retail division ran up losses of £8m in the first half after Jaeger's spring range failed dismally.

Coats, which as Coats Viyella was once one of the UK's top 50 companies, has been considering a sale for the past two years. It wants to concentrate on building up its sewing threads business, which supplies garment manufacturers around the world.

The threads business includes Coats Crafts in McMullen Road, Darlington, which employs more than 100 staff.

Jaeger is sold through 52 stores and 94 concessions, mainly in the UK, while Viyella retails in 35 stores and 136 concessions. Some 2,600 people are employed across both brands.

Mr Flower said a deal for both Jaeger and Viyella could fetch £50m, but he would consider separate transactions.

Coats also wants to sell its Bedwear division, which owns the Dorma brand, as part of the restructuring and its India Textiles business.

Losses at the Bedwear arm, which employs 1,700 staff, spiralled to £1.1m in the six months to June 30, from £200,000 last year, on lower sales to Marks & Spencer.

With the economic downturn affecting Coats' core threads business, group pre-tax profits fell six per cent to £4.7m in the half-year.