Baugur, owner and stakeholder of over 20 UK prominent High Street brands including House of Fraser, Oasis and Hamleys, has been severely affected by the Icelandic banking crisis.
The group owes £2bn to Icelandic banks and has had its assets frozen by the government in Reykjavik.
Baugur have insisted that its retail operations are not up for sale. However, administrators at KPMG have been appointed to carry out a strategic review at one of its businesses, Whittard of Chelsea, retailer of tea, coffee and crockery, with a focus on cash management.
Sir Philip Green, billionaire owner of Topshop and BHS, is interested in Baugur. He has been negotiating with Reykjavik's government ministers over purchasing Baugur's debt held by failed Icelandic banks.
Acquiring Baugur's debt would give Green a large amount of control over the businesses.
Green and Baugur own about 6,400 shops between them and employ around 90,000 staff.
