Britain’s department stores suffered another battering yesterday as Sports Direct announced the closure of four more House of Fraser stores while shares in Debenhams slumped by more than a fifth amid fresh fears for the company’s future.
Mike Ashley, the boss of House of Fraser’s parent company Sports Direct, issued a stark warning to landlords over the need to cut rent levels after announcing that all four stores owned by Intu Properties faced closure as a result of a failure to agree new terms.
Debenhams, which last month reported the biggest loss in its 240-year history, suffered its biggest one-day fall on the stock market in percentage terms. Its shares fell by 21%, or 1½p, to 5¼p. The retailer’s stock is down 87% in the past year.
