British fashion retailer Ted Baker has rejected two buyout offers from private equity investor Sycamore Partners Management, saying the proposals significantly undervalued the company, Reuters reported on Monday (March 28).

The retailer said Sycamore’s offers would not “compensate shareholders for the significant benefit that Ted Baker can provide as a listed company,” the report said.

See also: British retailer Ted Baker could be taken over by an American investor

Sycamore’s openings come at a time of heightened interest in UK businesses amid falling valuations following the pandemic and the UK’s post-Brexit woes.

And as PYMNTS noted on Monday, this is also happening at a time when activist investors are leaning on retailers.

Read more: Retailers face wave of hyperactivism amid post-COVID and pre-inflation transition

Last week, Chewy founder, Gamestop chairman and RC Ventures activist Ryan Cohen was able to place three board members at Bed, Bath & Beyond, where he controls a 9.5% stake.

Meanwhile, there’s the saga of Kohl’s saying no to multiple outside offers and reorganization demands from investors this year who have tried to break the company into pieces, bring in new directors or simply buy it out. entirely for $9 billion.

See also: Why are activists suddenly invading Kohl’s and other retailers now?

Reuters reported that Sycamore first made its offer to Ted Baker earlier this month, offering 130 pence per share, before raising that number to 137.5 pence per share, which would have valued the chain at 253, 8 million pounds (about $333.7 million).

“It’s no surprise that management is unwilling to let go of the reins after a difficult few years,” Laura Hoy, an equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, told Reuters. “We’re finally starting to see green shoots of the group’s turnaround efforts now that formal occasions are back on the social calendar.”