The tycoon at the heart of Iceland’s financial meltdown appealed yesterday to the billionaire Sir Philip Green to rescue his sickly Baugur company, which owns shops up and down the British high street.

Jón Ásgeir Jóhannesson became the first of Iceland’s new breed of millionaires to break cover with an unrepentant appearance on state television during which he clashed repeatedly with his interviewer. Since the crisis broke ten days ago, the country’s bankers and entrepreneurs have been keeping out of view, fearing the wrath of ordinary Icelanders and overseas savers.

The Icelandic Government was counting on Sir Philip – one of the most powerful figures in the British retail scene – and the Treasury to restore confidence to the country before markets opened today. There is concern that the coming week could be pivotal for Iceland; the currency could plummet, crippling an economy heavily dependent on imports.

The Treasury, the Bank of England and the Financial Services Authority (FSA) sent a delegation to Reykjavik at the weekend to search for ways to protect British depositors in Icesave, the internet operation of the collapsed Landsbanki bank, and other vulnerable groups. The result was a vaguely upbeat statement – “significant progress was made on retail depositors of Icesave with arrangements agreed in principle for an accelerated payout to depositors” – that went some way towards soothing Anglo-Icelandic relations.

Despite critical press commentary, including cartoons showing Gordon Brown as an international bully, the Icelandic public is becoming more understanding of the damage done to British savers.

However, Iceland needed a deal to be struck by this morning and did not get it. So it has been left largely to Sir Philip, owner of Bhs and Top Shop, to demonstrate that there is still some confidence in the many companies under Icelandic ownership.

Sir Philip told The Times last night that he was “willing and able” to help Baugur. At stake is how much of the £2 billion of company debt Sir Philip is ready to take on in return for unparalleled influence over Britain’s shops. Baugur owns companies such as House of Fraser, Karen Millen, and Hamleys toy shop.

Mr Jóhannesson – who has a majority share in Glitnir Bank, which owes hundreds of millions of pounds to British investors, including local councils and charities – was taken aback by the criticism he received on television yesterday.

As he tried to reassure Icelanders that his debt problems were under control, his interviewer accused him and others of running a pyramid scheme, sucking in people from around the world and damaging Iceland’s reputation.

“No, no, no,” the 41-year-old tycoon replied. Referring to the collapse of other banks such as Lehman Brothers, he added: “Was Lehmans a pyramid scam? Of course it wasn’t!” Baugur, he said, had bought prime assets abroad.

He blamed the Government for not supporting Glitnir, in which his Stodir investment company was the lead shareholder. “There was no reason whatsoever to take it into receivership and start this whole domino thing going. We all have to take responsibility for the crisis, but I’m not just giving away the assets.”

His interviewer suggested that was exactly what he was going to do by selling to Sir Philip. The British retailer had flown to Rekjavik on Friday to work out the terms of a deal, but by last night, with hours to go before the opening of the markets, there was still no agreement.

“What else is there to do?” said Mr Jóhannesson.

The interviewer retorted: “Why not let the British state take over the assets of your companies to cover the liabilities, instead of inviting Philip Green to a fire sale, probably backed by hedge funds?”

Pressed on whether he thought a deal could be struck with Sir Philip, he said: “It’s not my decision . . . I don’t have a say.”

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