Landsbanki has reiterated that it does not intend to sell on the shares it now controls in House of Fraser “for the foreseeable future”.
Senior representatives of both the department store chain and the nationalised Icelandic bank have met and “held very positive discussions” according to a joint statement issued today.

It said: “House of Fraser and Landsbanki would like to stress that the recent events surrounding Baugur have no impact on the trading or banking position of House of Fraser and it is business as usual."

Landsbanki, which seized control of Baugur’s stakes in House of Fraser, Aurum, Iceland and Hamleys last week when subsidiary BG Holding fell into administration, said it has “no intention of selling on shares” in Highland Group, the consortium backed by Baugur that acquired the retailer in November 2007.

The Landsbanki Resolution Committee restated: “Our aim is to maximise the long-term value of the shareholdings and we give our full support to the House of Fraser management team.”

Landsbanki now controls Baugur’s 35 per cent stake in House of Fraser.