A controlling interest of 89% of the House of Fraser has been sold to the Chinese Sanpower company, valuing the group at around £450 million. The Sanpower group of companies currently employs 30,000 people and is valued at close to £5 billion, with the House of Fraser directly employing, 7,300 staff.

The company has been looking to release value for the hotch potch of shareholders including Lloyds bank, for some time and had plans pushing ahead for a stock market listing, if a buyer couldn't be sourced. This interest came from an unexpected source quite recently.

The new owner intends to expand the group into China and invest further in online sales