Wittington Investments, the private company owned by Canadian billionaire Galen Weston, and its adviser Morgan Stanley, faces an uphill struggle to secure enough votes to acquire Selfridges, the UK retailer.

Wittington said in a statement on Monday that it owned or had received acceptances for just 32.14% of the shares for its recommended £598m (€832m) cash offer for Selfridges, made on May 15, and urged shareholders to make a decision quickly. The offer has been extended for the third time, remaining open for acceptances until 14:00 GMT on July 2. On June 6, the first closing date for the offer, Wittington owned or had received acceptances for 25.71% of the shares. By the second closing date, on June 20, that figure had risen to 29.22% and it is now at 32.14%.