House of Fraser extends administration period to 2020

Embattled department store retailer House of Fraser (HoF) has had its administration period extended to 10 August 2020, after being approved by its creditors.

According to a report by Drapers, documents on the process of the administration will be released later on this week by ‘Big Four’ accounting firm EY.

It comes just weeks after Sports Direct revealed it had found problems in HoF that were “nothing short of terminal in nature”, following its acquisition of the company earlier this year.

The acquisition of HoF also impacted Sports Direct’s results for the period ending 28 April 2019, which saw group underlying EBITDA decrease by 6% to £287.8m. Excluding House of Fraser, underlying EBITDA would have increased 10.9% to £339.4m

It said “serious” under investment in stores and appropriate support services, “excessive and unsustainable” outsourcing and financing, and selling brands to the company’s Chinese parent shortly before administration are just some of the “many problems faced”.

Sports Direct originally acquired HoF in January of this year for £90m, in a deal that came just minutes after the department store chain entered administration.