1435 Wednesday 14 November 2018

Following weeks of negotiations with landlords, House of Fraser is to close four of their stores.

Upon the acquisition of HoF, Sports Direct chairman Mike Ashley stated that he would be in talks with landlords of the stores to try and lower rent in order to keep stores open and prevent job losses. Unfortunately these talks have failed and stores in Lakeside, Gateshead, Norwich and Nottingham are to shut placing 100’s of jobs in danger.

In a statement, Mike Ashley confirmed "We had various meetings with the landlord, Intu Properties, and adopted a flexible approach.

"Despite our best efforts we have been unable to agree reasonable terms for these stores to continue trading.

"Sadly, we are now in consultation with staff about the fact these stores face closure.

"We hope other institutional landlords will continue to work with us in order to save stores and jobs.

"I urge other institutional landlords to be more proactive to help save the HoF stores in their schemes."

In recent weeks, Mr Ashley also purchased Evens Cycles and plans to cut 50% of stores in the New Year.

Also related to Mike Ashley, stock in Debenhams has dropped drastically, slumping over 15% today and now sit at just 5.92 per share having stated the year at a valuation of 36p.

As always, to get further analysis on these stocks and for all other inquiries, please feel free to contact a broker directly on 0121 454 0770.

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