Luxury department store David Jones has reportedly attracted the attention of a UK-based firm as company chair Robert Savage confirmed this afternoon the floating of an unsolicited takeover offer to one of Australia's oldest retail player.

Mr Savage identified the suitor as EB Private Equity, which media reports said is a group of investors mainly operating from the United Kingdom and Luxembourg.

The group, as showed on its website, calls itself expert on "real estate investments that ranges from investments in commercial (office and retail), leisure and alternative asset class investments."

Beyond the proposed takeover proposal of $1.65 billion for David Jones, Mr Savage admitted that information about EB Private Equity were scarce at this time but he assured that updates will be provided on the development as they arrive.

"In the meantime, the directors recommend that shareholders treat any related market comment cautiously," the David Jones chair was reported by The Herald Sun as saying on Friday.

Earlier in May, David Jones chief executive Paul Zahra downplayed speculations that the company, which along with other retailers has been absorbing losses due to Australia's softening consumer spending, has been receiving overtures of takeover from numerous sources.

Mr Zahra, however, did not rule out the possibility that David Jones will entertain such offer, especially if the package would be hard to resist.

He made the announcement as the company revealed that sales as of April shrunk to $399.8 million, with projections that net income by the end of July could retreat by as much as 40 percent.

Retailers have been complaining that consumers unwilling to go out and shop, coupled with the emergence of online shopping sites from here and abroad have been slowly killing the sector.

The weakening retail climate creates opportunity for foreign investors to come in and buy out firms that have been doing business for decades.

The spectre of David Jones being snapped up by a foreign entity was worrisome in some aspect, according to Australian Retailers Association (ARA) spokesman Russell Zimmerman.

But he conceded that he may wish to see the general retail industry to remain Australian "but at the end of the day you also want to see a strong, competitive retail environment."

"As Australia's oldest department store it is important from a retail perspective to ensure the longevity of the store, one would hope whoever takes it on understands the model is not broken but in need of rejuvenation," Mr Zimmerman told The Herald Sun.

As of afternoon's trading, David Jones shares were buoyed by the news shooting up by about 16 percent shortly after the company confirmed the offer from EB Private Equity.

The offer, according to The Australian, was reportedly broken down as: "$850 million of equity from an EB-led consortium, $450 million of debt and $450 million in residual equity for the existing David Jones Limited shareholders."