House of Fraser plans to close more than half its department stores in the UK and Ireland, threatening 6,000 jobs, as the struggling chain pursues insolvency procedures aimed at securing new investment.
The company is seeking to shut 31 of 59 outlets through a British insolvency provision called a company voluntary arrangement. Chinese retailer C.banner International Holdings has pledged to pump fresh capital into House of Fraser if it shuts stores.
“We, as a management team, have a responsibility to take necessary steps to ensure House of Fraser’s survival, which is why we are making these proposals,” chief executive Alex Williamson said in a statement Thursday.
If approved, the closures would add to the mounting shop vacancies on British shopping streets. The rise of e-commerce, which makes up nearly one-fifth of the UK’s retail sales, has left store owners with declining sales even as rent bills rise. Fashion retailer New Look, baby and childrens-wear retailer Mothercare and floor-coverings seller Carpetright have all had CVA’s approved this year.
“Department stores are incredibly expensive to operate,” Richard Lim, CEO of consultancy Retail Economics, said by email. “These traditional retail business models are simply becoming unsustainable for some retailers.”
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Faced with the alternative of their tenants going out of business and a likely struggle to find a replacement, landlords have reluctantly approved other CVAs this year. But they’ve been irked by House of Fraser’s decision to go public with its plans in May without first consulting with them, according to the British Property Federation.
Without mentioning House of Fraser directly, the group said in a statement Thursday that some retailers are abusing the CVA process.
“Urgent action is required and we are calling on government today to undertake a review, so that we can restore the CVA process to its original purpose,” CEO Melanie Leech said.
The House of Fraser closings are set to include the company’s flagship store on London’s Oxford Street. The company will seek approval from its creditors on June 22. If the proposals are cleared, the stores are likely to close early next year.
House of Fraser’s 175 million pounds (Dh863m) of bonds due in 2020 have fallen 15 pence this year to a record-low 73 pence, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
A CVA is sometimes merely a stay of execution. Department-store chain BHS, outdoor-gear retailer Blacks Leisure and sportswear merchant JJB Sports all collapsed in recent years despite carrying out CVAs. The latest woes among UK retailers follow the insolvency of Toys “R” Us’s UK unit and electronics retailer Maplin in February.
THE SPECS
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Profile of Whizkey
Date founded: 04 November 2017
Founders: Abdulaziz AlBlooshi and Harsh Hirani
Based: Dubai, UAE
Number of employees: 10
Sector: AI, software
Cashflow: Dh2.5 Million
Funding stage: Series A
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
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At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
THE LOWDOWN
Romeo Akbar Walter
Rating: 2/5 stars
Produced by: Dharma Productions, Azure Entertainment
Directed by: Robby Grewal
Cast: John Abraham, Mouni Roy, Jackie Shroff and Sikandar Kher
ACC 2019: The winners in full
Best Actress Maha Alemi, Sofia
Best Actor Mohamed Dhrif, Weldi
Best Screenplay Meryem Benm’Barek, Sofia
Best Documentary Of Fathers and Sons by Talal Derki
Best Film Yomeddine by Abu Bakr Shawky
Best Director Nadine Labaki, Capernaum
MATCH INFO
Rugby World Cup (all times UAE)
Final: England v South Africa, Saturday, 1pm
Most wanted allegations
- Benjamin Macann, 32: involvement in cocaine smuggling gang.
- Jack Mayle, 30: sold drugs from a phone line called the Flavour Quest.
- Callum Halpin, 27: over the 2018 murder of a rival drug dealer.
- Asim Naveed, 29: accused of being the leader of a gang that imported cocaine.
- Calvin Parris, 32: accused of buying cocaine from Naveed and selling it on.
- John James Jones, 31: allegedly stabbed two people causing serious injuries.
- Callum Michael Allan, 23: alleged drug dealing and assaulting an emergency worker.
- Dean Garforth, 29: part of a crime gang that sold drugs and guns.
- Joshua Dillon Hendry, 30: accused of trafficking heroin and crack cocain.
- Mark Francis Roberts, 28: grievous bodily harm after a bungled attempt to steal a £60,000 watch.
- James ‘Jamie’ Stevenson, 56: for arson and over the seizure of a tonne of cocaine.
- Nana Oppong, 41: shot a man eight times in a suspected gangland reprisal attack.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
