House of Fraser is to lease its store in High Street, Sheffield, to Liverpool-based department stores group TJ Hughes. The deal is expected to complete on 31 March 1998 and House of Fraser is now negotiating to dispose of the store’s freehold.
Following a comprehensive strategic review in late 1996, the House of Fraser board concluded that three stores – Binns in Scunthorpe, Army & Navy in Eastbourne and House of Fraser in High Street, Sheffield – were unlikely to make satisfactory returns as House of Fraser stores and proposed that they should be sold or closed. This transaction completes that programme.
Binns in Scunthorpe was sold to Upton & Southern Holdings, completion having taken place in September 1997. The store was sold as a going concern and management and staff were offered employment by the new owner. It was announced in January that the Army & Navy store in Eastbourne would be closed at the end of March.
Following the sale of the Sheffield store, House of Fraser will own 49 stores. New stores in Reading, Berkshire, and Bluewater, Kent, are due to open in 1999.
EGi News 09/03/98
