Icelandic bank Kaupthing said it was disposing of its UK asset finance and commodity finance businesses to free up £1 billion ($2 billion) in liquidity. The bank said Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander will now focus on providing financial services to small and medium-sized businesses and to high net worth individuals. Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander also will also close its property and corporate banking activities in British cities Leeds and Manchester and move them to London and Birmingham. Armann Thorvaldsson, chief executive of Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander, said these were the final steps in a restructuring following the acquisition of Singer & Friedlander in 2005. Kaupthing said the asset finance business and commodity trade finance units were not core to its activities and had been operating largely on a standalone basis. "Exiting these businesses will have a positive impact on the cost base and will free up liquidity in excess of £1 billion," the firm said. "The capital released will be reinvested to further grow the core UK business." Last month Kaupthing dropped a €3 billion ($4.4 billion) plan to buy Dutch bank NIBC due to tough market conditions. Investors have been concerned about its liquidity after several years of rapid expansion.