Baugur to focus on retail following disposals

The Icelandic group said that it had reached agreements with two newly formed independent buyers; its media and technology assets will be acquired by Stodir Invest, while its financial services investments are being bought by Styrkur Invest. Both companies will be headed by former Baugur executives.

Baugur is divesting itself of non-core assets to focus on its retail acquisition strategy. This latest deal follows the sale of its property portfolio to FL Group last December.

The disposals position Baugur as a “pure retail investor”. It will also rebalance its “geographical portfolio” by making 85 per cent of Baugur’s business based in the UK, the US and Scandinavia.

Baugur chief executive Gunnar Sigurdsson said: “These changes place us exclusively in the retail space, where we have unrivalled experience. It builds our existing war chest, which will allow us to take advantage of investment opportunities that will arise in the current market conditions.”

Large chunks of the UK high street are already controlled by Baugur, including department store chain House of Fraser and fashion group Mosaic. At the tail end of last year, it bought a 1 per cent stake in troubled retailer Sports Direct and has made a£40 million preliminary offer for menswear chain Moss Bros.

The restructure has led to a number of departures from Baugur’s executive board. Thordis Sigurdardottir, the managing diretor of its media and technology arm, will become chief executive of Stodir Invest. Eirikur Johannsson, the managing director of Baugur Investments, will become chief executive of Styrkur Invest. Andrew Lobb, director of Baugur’s legal and operations, is joining its executive board.

Executive chairman Jon Asgeir Johannesson said: “These changes mark the conclusion of events [that] we set in train last year and will place Baugur in an exceptional position to further grow its unique retail portfolio.

“The present times are challenging and very exciting and, with the quality of our portfolio of brands, we are in a great position to be at the forefront of developments on the worldwide retail scene.”