BAUGUR, the Icelandic investment group that controls such fashion brands as Karen Millen, Oasis and Principles, plans to open more than 300 stores in Germany.

The company has teamed up with Kristinn Gunnarsson, an Icelandic entrepreneur, to create a new joint venture called Arctic to lead the expansion plans.

Gunnarsson worked with the Danish retailer Bestseller, whose brands include Jack & Jones, to drive its German growth. The new stores will be a mix of high-street shops and concessions in department-store chains. The first will open next year.

The news comes just days after speculation intensified that Baugur may be plotting a $3 billion (£1.5 billion) bid for Saks, the American department store group in which it has built up an 8.08% stake.

Buying Saks would help speed up its expansion across the Atlantic.

So far, Baugur’s only brand presence in the US is through Karen Millen, which has a handful of stores, although the group believes there could be scope for as many as 100.

Baugur is also planning to expand into India and has held talks with some of the region’s biggest retailers, including Reliance, to form a joint venture.

During the past four years the company has made a spectacular impact on the British retail scene, snapping up companies from House of Fraser to Ham-leys, the toy store. Companies in its stable are turning over £10 billion across 3,800 stores.

Its brands constitute one of the biggest retail tenants in Britain, employing about 65,000 people.

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