m&s cuts prices by average of 24% marks & spencer has cut prices in london and the regions by an average of 24%  according to research from a city investment bank.  dresdner kleinwort wasserstein said:  in spite of the snow in the uk  it still feels very early to be cutting prices of spring merchandise.  stuart rose  head of m&s  said last year its prices were too high.  we are bringing in ranges at new price points to compete against mid-market retailers like next   said m&s.  next is one of m&s s biggest competitors and the move may force it to lower prices. drkw said the cuts are either to clear stock or could indicate a longer term  step change in pricing in certain areas  at m&s.  either way  this cannot be good news for m&s  margin   it added.  we have brought in quite a lot of new clothing at new price points as part of stuart rose s strategy of quality  style -and price   said the m&s spokesman. many analysts believe february is proving to be a difficult month for retailers and british retail consortium figures  due in a few weeks  are expected to reflect the tough trading environment. separately  investment bank goldman sachs produced reseach showing that a basket of 35 m&s goods is now 11% above the high-street average  compared with 43% higher last year.  it has been a strange week for m&s  which on tuesday received a statement from philip green  the billionaire bhs owner  confirming he was not rebidding for the company. this was followed the same day by mark paulsmeier  a south african financier  issuing a press release saying his paulsmeier group was interested in m&s. a sudden spike in m&s s share price followed. however  an m&s spokesman said on sunday it had no evidence that mr paulsmeier had lined up sufficient finance for a bid. he also said the takeover panel and the uk s financial watchdog the financial services authority had been in touch with m&s at the beginning of the week to find out what it knew about the paulsmeier developments.