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House of Fraser is expected to close around half of its UK stores as part of its upcoming Company Voluntary Agreement (CVA) next month.
According to reports around 30 of its 59 UK stores are set to be axed as part of the CVA with rent cuts expected to be negotiated on the remainder.
House of Fraser currently employs 6000 directly-employed staff while a further 11,500 work as concession staff in its department stores. When contacted House of Fraser declined to comment on the reports.
The news comes after Retail Sector revealed that the department store chain is struggling to get approval for its CVA as landlords slammed plans for rent reductions.
Sources close to CVA discussions told Retail Sector the plans are yet to even be put to a vote with landlords – a vote which could successfully overturn the proposed deal.
Earlier this month it was also announced that Hamleys owner C.Banner had acquired a 51% stake in the group, with Nanjing Cenbest which previously had an 89% stake, retaining a minority share. The deal is expected to be completed at the end of June.
