Fears about a slowdown in consumer spending are threatening the sale of a string of British businesses as buyers take fright at the recent shock profit warning from DFS.

The sofa giant triggered a retail share sell-off last week after announcing that its profits would be £10m lower than expected. DFS blamed uncertainty around the election for lower footfall to its stores, which followed official figures that showed rising prices were squeezing household incomes.

Sources said cautiousness was prompting bidders to raise questions about the price of Oak Furnitureland’s ongoing £400m auction. Final bids are understood to have been made in recent days after entrepreneur Jason Bannister hired advisers at PwC in January to advise on a sale that would help the group’s expansion overseas.

City sources also said the sales of bed retailer Dreams and Sharps were coming under also price pressure. Dreams has already attracted bids from mattress maker Silent Night and Chinese rivals MLily and King Koil. However, sources said that the bids may fall below the £400m that advisers at Rothschild had hoped for.

Smaller bedroom furniture retailer Sharps, which is hoping for an £80m price tag, is understood to be at an earlier stage of its sale process. Dreams and Sharps were both bought out of administration by Sun European.