Board backs 148p a share offer
Baugur has tabled a 148p a share bid for House of Fraser. The bid has been recommended to shareholders by the House of Fraser board.

The long-awaited bid has come from Highland Acquisitions, a company set up by Buagur and backed by entrepreneurs Kevin Stanford, Don McCarthy and Stefan Cassar, plus investors Bank of Scotland and the Icelandic FL Group.

Subject to approval from shareholders, House of Fraser will be taken over by the consortium on 8 November.

'This offer allows House of Fraser shareholders to crystallise the value that has been achieved and provides certainty in an uncertain economic environment,' said House of Fraser chairman Michael Wemms.

House of Fraser issued a trading update to coincide with the announcement, where it said total sales for the 29 weeks to 19 August were up 8.4 per cent, but like for like sales were down 1.6 per cent.