United Kingdom : Fashion Tycoon Green To Bid For Harrods?

Billionaire retail entrepreneur and Arcadia fashion empire owner Philip Green was reported to have emerged as a possible buyer for famous luxury goods store Harrods.

The London Evening Standard said the Monaco-based tycoon, who also runs Bhs and is currently mulling a bid for supermarket chain Safeway, is believed to have contacted Fayed to discuss a possible sale.

The paper quoted a spokesman for the Knightsbridge department store as saying Green had made a "derisory" bid last autumn but that the store is not for sale "at any price".

Green has also denied talks are taking place for the retailer which saw its profit fall 20 per cent last year to £23 million amid a sharp downturn in tourism since the September 11 terrorist attacks in the US.