Sir Philip Green weighs up £2billion bid to buy Iceland's troubled retail group Baugur, owners of Hamleys and House of Fraser

Daily Mail 12th October 2008

Sir Philip Green has flown to Iceland to discuss his possible investment in the beleaguered retail group Baugur.

The Icelandic firm has seen its assets frozen following the banking crisis which swept the Nordic country this week, with banks being nationalised in a bid to stop the financial system collapsing.

Baugur owns a host of famous British high street brands, including House of Fraser, Hamleys, Oasis, Karen Millen, Warehouse, Principles and the Iceland supermarket chain.

Retail king: If Sir Philip Green acquires a stake in Baugur, it would mean he has a huge influence over the British high street

Sir Philip is keen to acquire a big share in the group and could invest up to £2billion in the company, according to the Financial Times.

He flew into Reykjavik on Friday morning via private jet with Baugar chairman Jon Asgeir Johannesson, where he joined Gunnar Sigurdsson, chief executive of Baugur.

He told the FT he was prepared to buy all Baugar's debt held in the collapsed banks.

Sir Philip said: 'All the assets have been frozen. I don’t want any of these businesses to fall over, nor does Jon, nor does Gunnar.'

Representatives for Baugur insisted the whole group wasn't for sale, but Sir Philip stands to gain a powerful position in the company - and the British high street - if the deal goes through.

Sir Philip currently owns majority holdings in BHS, Etam and the Arcadia Group, which includes TopShop, Burton, Evans, Miss Selfridge, Dorothy Perkins and Wallis.

In talks: Baugur chairman Jon Asgeir Johannesson flew Sir Philip Green to Reykjavik on Friday

Meanwhile, a Treasury delegation is spending the weekend in Iceland attempting to establish a claims procedure for British depositors to retrieve their savings from Icelandic banks.

Last night Iceland's Prime Minister Geir Haarde said point-blank that his country could not afford to repay overseas investors in its collapsed banks.

The crisis sparked fury between London and Reykjavik, with Prime Minister Gordon Brown denouncing the 'totally unacceptable' failure of the Icelandic authorities to guarantee the money of UK depositors.

Haarde in turn blamed Britain for the collapse of his country's third largest bank, Kaupthing, after the Government used anti-terrorism laws to freeze Icelandic assets in the UK.

Mr Brown's spokesman said they hoped now to work 'constructively and co-operatively' with the Icelandic authorities.

However, he strongly defended the Government's action in freezing the Icelandic assets.

'We had found it very difficult to get information from [Iceland] whose authorities had indicated they would give preferential treatment to domestic creditors over overseas creditors.'

The Treasury has announced that all individual UK savers affected by the Icelandic bank crisis will be protected and it agreed late last night to extend the 100 per cent guarantee to small businesses.

High street brands: Baugur have stakes in a host of British store chains, including Hamleys, Karen Millen and House Of Fraser