A long-running dispute between shareholders and management of Tess Limited - which owns a dozen clothing retail stores including The English Sports Shop (TESS), Marks and Spencer, Cecile's and others - has been resolved The Royal Gazette has learned.

A source close to the situation said that the dispute - which came into the open in July 2001 at the annual general meeting - resulted from a split between the Finsness shareholders on the one hand and president of the TESS group David Hamshere and shareholders loyal to him on the other.

The source said that the dispute was settled by a buyout of the Finsness shareholders on agreeable terms.

The Royal Gazette also understands the petitions launched in the Supreme Court by Finsness shareholders, represented by Cox Hallett Wilkinson, against the company and the other shareholders, represented by Appleby Spurling & Kempe, to compel such a buyout have now been withdrawn.

Mr. Hamshere was off the Island yesterday and unavailable for comment.

The Royal Gazette has reported on several occasions this year that a renegade group of shareholders was disgruntled at the way the group was being run and wanted to change the management or get the company closed.

Writs were filed in January as well as July that sought to achieve these changes, and in January an advertisement of a petition by the minority shareholders was placed in The Royal Gazette.

The petition by the minority shareholders essentially complained that the company had been badly run and asked 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 were listed as Erling Ltd., Kenneth Harold Finsness, Russell Finsness, Wilson & Co., Nicholas Hoskins and Dennis W. Dwyer.

The group operated at one point 17 stores in Bermuda - six English Sports Shops, 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.

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.