The three private equity firms that floated Debenhams less than a year ago saw more than £50m (€73m) wiped off the value of their remaining stakes in the UK retailer after its shares plunged more than a tenth in the wake of a profit warning today.

The share price fall came as Merrill Lynch managing director Guido Padovano became the first of the private equity firms' board representatives to step down as a non-executive at Debenhams.