"Frogs" hit M&S with lawsuit

Marks & Spencer has confirmed that French retail group Galeries Lafayette is pursuing court proceedings following a dispute relating to stores it bought from M&S two years ago.

Galeries Lafayette is rumoured to demand 60 million euros in compensation because redundancy payments relating to 1,500 staff at the 18 stores cost more than anticipated.

"We can confirm there are court proceedings but as they are current we can't go into detail," M&S said.

"We are confident we have complied with the terms of our contract with Galeries Lafayette and therefore we are disputing the claim and have every confidence it will be defeated."