Sir Philip set to buy Princes Street stores

Published on Monday 13 October 2008 10:19

MANY of Princes Street's biggest stores are set to be bought over by billionaire retail tycoon Sir Philip Green.

Icelandic investment giant Baugur is set to hand over its UK retail arm, which includes Jenners, House of Fraser and a large stake in Debenhams, as part of a rescue deal for debt-laden firm.

Sir Philip travelled to Reykjavik to meet Baugur chairman Jn Asgeir Jhannesson and officials from the Icelandic government.

It is unclear how much of Baugur's reported 2bn debt Sir Philip would take on, but any deal would provide Iceland with much needed funds.

Following the nationalisation of Iceland's banks, much of the debt used by Baugur to acquire UK retailers such as Coast, Oasis, Warehouse, Principles and Karen Millen is now controlled by the government.

Mr Jhannesson said that selling off assets, even at "fire sale prices" was better than letting the high-street brands "fall one after the other" and could save 55,000 jobs across the UK.

The move comes just two weeks after Baugur bosses insisted it had no plans to sell the stores.

Sir Philip said: "It is of the utmost importance that if we are going to do something it is done as soon as possible. I like to think we are one of the few people in the UK that can do this in not many hours."

Sir Philip said he would use his own money to fund the deal.

The billionaire businessman already owns BHS and Arcadia, which encompasses Topshop, Top Man, Dorothy Perkins, Burton, Miss Selfridge and Evans.

This could give him effective control of Baugur's retail empire, creating one of the most influential forces on the high street.

Adding dozens more stores in Edinburgh alone – including seven branches of Iceland, Jenners, House of Fraser, four branches of Oasis, Principles and Warehouse, and stakes in Debenhams, French Connection and Woolworths – would previously have been seen as noncompetitive, but the approval given to Lloyds TSB's takeover of HBoS suggests that such concerns would be put aside.