Jon Asgeir Johannesson, the former boss of collapsed Icelandic investor Baugur who made millions snapping up swathes of the UK high street, has claimed in court that he has only a little over a million of assets left.

Johannesson, who made £600m buying and investing in chains including House of Fraser, Debenhams, Oasis, Karen Millen, Whistles and Jane Norman, claims he has only £1.1m of assets left.

Johannesson is fighting lawsuits in London and New York which allege that he led a conspiracy to defraud collapsed Icelandic bank Glitnir of $2bn (£1.4bn), something Johannesson strongly denies.

The High Court has frozen his assets and Johannesson’s application to have the freezing order lifted was rejected.

According to reports, a judge said that there was “something unreal” about Johannesson’s rapid reduction in wealth.

Baugur hit the buffers in February last year.

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