Sears rejected Mr Green's initial bid for more than 300p a share, or £459m, and has now rebuffed him again with his latest offer of 340p or £520m.

Mr Green said Sears, owner of Miss Selfridge, Richards and Wallis, rejected the proposals saying there were too many conditions and were not in the best interests of shareholders.

Takeover activity in the retail sector

But Mr Green claimed the only conditions he had laid down were basic questions about the company's progress and details on the value of its property assets.

He also asked for information on the group's debts and an estimated trading update.

Options under review

Phillip Green said he was "disappointed" at the rejection and refuted the accusation that he had asked for too much information.

Mr Green, who is making his offers through his company called Medinbond, said he would review his options when Sears issues its Christmas trading figures.

Mr Green, has bought and sold 21 retail businesses in the last 13 years.

Along with his other requests, he asked Sears for a progress report on the sale its credit card business Creation, which was put up for sale recently. Sears responded by stressing again that Mr Green's proposals remained conditional.

It said: "The board has unanimously concluded that it should reject the approach as it is not in a form that it considers to be in the best interest of shareholders.

"Furthermore the board believes that the true value of Sears is not reflected by the price indicated in Medinbond's proposal."

Private backing

Sears shares are currently at around 266p compared with Mr Green's 340p offer. Last week he confirmed that he had the backing of a group of private investors including Tom Hunter, who sold his Sports Division retail chain to JJB Sports for £290m in July.

Sears chairman Sir Bob Reid has been a staunch defender of the group's independence. He recently declined a private invitation from a venture capital group to head up a management buy-out.