A group of minority shareholders is trying to get an order to close down the Tess Group of companies, which owns more than a dozen retail stores including the English Sports Shop, Aston & Gunn and Marks & Spencer.

The renegade group of shareholders is said to be disgruntled at the way the group is being run and want to change the management or get the company closed, according to a source close to the group.

A writ was filed in the Supreme Court on January 18 and yesterday an advertisement of a petition by the minority shareholders was placed in The Royal Gazette.

The petition by the minority shareholders essentially complains that the company has been run badly and asks the Supreme Court to seek an alternative remedy to winding up the company or to get the company wound up.

The group of shareholders seeking the action are listed as Erling Ltd., Kenneth Harold Finsness, Russell Finsness, Wilson & Co., Nicholas Hoskins and Dennis W. Dwyer. Efforts to contact the group's lawyers failed yesterday and calls were not returned by Cox Hallett and Wilkinson.

David Hamshere, president of the Tess Group, yesterday declined to comment on the action, saying he did not wish to alarm his staff.

He said: "I am afraid we are a private company and I have my staff to consider in this matter. I do not wish to alarm them. If something comes up, I will be certainly happy to share it with you, but this is basically a small group, one group of a family of shareholders."

The petition filed by the minority shareholders will be heard on February 15 at 9.30 am, and any creditor or contributor of the company who wants to support or oppose the order can attend the hearing.

Creditors and contributors can also get a copy of the petition, which will not be made public until the end of court proceedings, from the courts.

The petition is for orders under section 111 of the Companies Act, which offers an "alternative remedy to winding up in cases of oppressive or prejudicial conduct" or as an alternative, that Tess Ltd. be wound up. This petition was handed into the Supreme Court on January 18, the advertisement said.

The group operated at one point 17 stores in Bermuda - six English Sports Shops (hence TESS), Taylor's in St. George's, Scottish Wool Shop, the Outlet, Aston & Gunn, two Crown Colony stores and bought up Archie Brown and Cecile's.

Since then the Scottish Wool Shop has closed and Aston & Gunn has revamped its store and closed its women's section.

But the impact of the economic downturn has hit stores across the Island over the past year, with retailers reporting drops in earnings for months.

The Tess Group bought Archie Brown after the company went into receivership in 1996 and revamped the space and re-opened the Levi's store, Marks and Spencer, Nautica and Pringles of Scotland.