BRITAIN'S most famous toy shop Hamleys was today sold to a French firm for an estimated £60m.

Hamleys is 250 years old and has eight outlets in the UK and Ireland, including its seven-storey flagship store in London’s Regent Street.

The classic British brand was mainly owned by nationalised Icelandic bank Landsbanki, which took over Baugur’s stake when the investment group collapsed in the recession.

Bracken, a private equity group run by financier David Rowland, who is one of Britain’s richest men and a Tory party donor, owned a minority stake.

Its new owner is family-run Groupe Ludendo, which operates 300 toy stores across France, Belgium, Switzerland and Spain.