Icelandic group Baugur is to add Mk One to its shopping basket of UK retailers in a deal worth £55m (€78.5m).

The FTSE 100 Index soared to a 29-month high today as fresh hopes that interest rates will stay on hold for the rest of the year and lower oil prices cheered investors.

The owner of the Principles and Warehouse fashion chains is the latest company on the shopping list of Icelandic retail group Baugur, it was reported today.

A poor start to the session on Wall Street and jitters about tomorrow’s UK inflation data left London shares firmly in the red today.

Slight gains by Marks & Spencer proved inconclusive in helping investors to decide the likely winner of the retailer’s £9.1bn (€13.6bn) takeover battle.

CORK-BASED Musgrave Group would make no comment yesterday on the prospect of another rival bid emerging for the British Londis group.

The Co-op is set to unveil a £66m (€100m) offer for convenience store business Londis in a bid to scupper a deal by Budgens owner Musgrave, it was reported today.

Musgrave will face a new rival in their battle for convenience store business Londis this week with the launch of another £60m (€90m) bid for the group, it was reported today.

News that retail billionaire Philip Green was mulling a bid for troubled high street chain Marks & Spencer gave the London market a late lift today.

The chief executive of Londis in Britain has agreed to step down after he and three colleagues dropped their rights to a controversial bonus scheme that would have handed them 51% of the company, following a merger with Cork-based Musgrave.

MUSGRAVE’S plans to buy the Londis operation in Britain in a £40 million deal have hit a brick wall.

The Big Food Group has urged shareholders of Londis Holdings to reject the recommended offer made by Cork based Musgrave.

MUSGRAVE are facing a massive fight with the Big Food Group in the battle to take over Londis in Britain.

London’s leading shares just managed to finish the week in positive territory today after earlier gains melted away.

The group that own Iceland say promotions helped improve sales at its struggling supermarket chains.

MOBILE phone giant Vodafone surged to its highest close since August yesterday as blue-chip stocks powered a rally in the City.