House of Fraser to close 31 stores with loss of 6,000 jobs

House of Fraser

Department store chain House of Fraser is to close 31 of its 59 shops, affecting 6,000 jobs, as part of a rescue deal.

If the plan is approved, 2,000 House of Fraser jobs will go, along with 4,000 brand and concession roles.

The stores scheduled for closure, which include its flagship London Oxford Street store, will stay open until early 2019, House of Fraser said.

The retailer needs the approval of 75 per cent of its creditors to go ahead.

Creditors will vote on the insolvency plan, which involves two company voluntary arrangements (CVAs), on 22 June.

House of Fraser chairman Frank Slevin said: “The retail industry is undergoing fundamental change and House of Fraser urgently needs to adapt to this fast-changing landscape in order to give it a future and allow it to thrive.

“Our legacy store estate has created an unsustainable cost base which, without restructuring, presents an existential threat to the business.”

Closing stores was “a very difficult decision”, he said, but “there should be no doubt that it is absolutely necessary if we are to continue to trade and be competitive”.

Accountancy firm KPMG, which is overseeing the insolvency process, said the firm had been hit by “mounting pressures facing the UK High Street“.

However the CVA vote should not be regarded as a foregone conclusion as ITV Business Editor Joel Hills has been speaking to affected landlords and some feel that they would be better off if House of Fraser entered administration.

The House of Fraser stores identified for closure:

Altrincham, Aylesbury, Birkenhead, Birmingham, Bournemouth, Camberley, Cardiff, Carlisle, Chichester, Cirencester, Cwmbran, Darlington, Doncaster, Edinburgh Frasers, Epsom, Grimsby, High Wycombe, Hull, Leamington Spa, Lincoln, London Oxford Street, London King William Street, Middlesbrough, Milton Keynes, Plymouth, Shrewsbury, Skipton, Swindon, Telford, Wolverhampton, Worcester.