Baugur vehicle buys into Debenhams

Unity Investments, a vehicle controlled by Icelandic giant Baugur, has bought a 4.87 per cent stake in department store group Debenhams, lifting the retailer's shares by more than 4 per cent this morning.

Seymour Pierce analyst Richard Ratner said: 'We suspect that it [Unity Investments] found the price in the 130s attractive and saw it as an opportune moment to buy the shares. However, given the time needed to sort out House of Fraser, we doubt whether this is, at this stage, anything more than an investment.'

Unity is a venture between Baugur and retail entrepreneur Kevin Stanford. Baugur has interests in a number of retailers already, including supermarket Iceland, women's fashion group Karen Millen, variety retailer Woolworths and menswear chain Moss Bros.