Iceland bidders due to make offers this week

Final bids for Iceland Foods, the frozen food retailer that is up for sale for up to £1.5bn, are due in on Tuesday. Four bidders, the grocer Morrisons and three private equity firms, were still busy in the data room this weekend.

The private equity firms – Bain Capital, Blackstone and BC Partners – are each thought to have lined up eight banks to finance their second-round bids. However, Iceland's chief executive, Malcolm Walker, who along with its management team owns 23 per cent of the retail group, has pre-emption rights to match any final bid.