BAUGUR is set to make at least £30 million from its stake in Somerfield, even if the Icelandic retail investor is forced to withdraw from bidding for the supermarket chain.

Talks continued yesterday between Barclays Capital and Apax Partners, the private equity firms, Robert Tchenguiz, the property tycoon, and Baugur on the terms of a likely withdrawal by the Icelandic firm in the wake of fraud charges being filed against Jon Asgeir Johannesson, its chief executive.

The consortium had been expected to make a £1.12 billion offer for Somerfield in the next few weeks. Baugur, which has a 5.5 per cent stake in Somerfield valued at £57 million, is reluctant to withdraw from the consortium because the company itself is not implicated in the charges.

However, it is expected to be forced to negotiate a “graceful exit” this weekend after certain bid partners insisted that they would walk away if the Icelandic firm remained.

Mr Johannesson, and the five other executives charged with him, deny all the 40 charges being brought by police in Iceland. Despite this, some members of the consortium are concerned about the potential damage to their reputation from linking up with a company whose chief executive has been charged with fraud.

Full details of the charges have yet to be made public but are expected to be released by Mr Johannesson’s lawyers early next week.

The major charges relate to the alleged embezzlement of more than 307 million Iceland kronors concerning transactions in shares of Arcadia, the owner of Top Shop that was formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange, and of further funds relating to the purchase of the 10/11 supermarket in Iceland.

The charges are due to be filed with the Icelandic courts on August 17 when they return from summer recess and the case could take as long as two years to conclude.

If Baugur is forced to withdraw from a bid for Somerfield as a result of the fraud charges, it will be the second time that such accusations have foiled a big deal for the Icelandic firm. In 2002 Baugur had to end plans to bid for Arcadia after investigators searched the Icelandic firm’s offices, prompted by accusations of fraud made by a former business partner.

Baugur made about £75 million from selling its 20 per cent stake in Arcadia to Philip Green, the owner of BHS, who went on to take the business private.

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