China's Sanpower Group has agreed to buy an 89 percent stake in Britain's House of Fraser in a deal that values the department store at more than 450 million pounds, including debt.

A source close to the deal, who did not want to be named, told Reuters on Friday the transaction with the Nanjing-based conglomerate founded by Chinese business tycoon Yuan Yafei was expected to be confirmed "imminently."

The 160-year-old House of Fraser, which trades from 61 stores in Britain and Ireland and has annual sales of about 1.2 billion pounds, had been running a dual-track sale process - looking for potential buyers, while also considering a possible initial public share offer.

Talks about a sale to French counterpart Galeries Lafayette ended in January.

House of Fraser declined to comment on the deal and Sanpower Group could not immediately be reached for comment.