Sports Direct acquires HoF Glasgow store in ‘Harrods of the North’ ambition
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House of Fraser today (Friday 12 October) vowed to create the “Harrods of the North” – after announcing a £95m deal to acquire the freehold of the Frasers building in Glasgow.
The flagship store already has a strong luxury brand presence which includes Hermes, Christian Louboutin, Prada and Gucci giving Sports Direct the foundation to create and build on its existing luxury offer.
The 350,000 sq ft listed building spans across multiple floors and the deal will save 800 in-store jobs. Sports Direct will invest in the development of the property and completion is expected to take place in January 2020.
Michael Murray, head of elevation for the new owners of House of Fraser, said: “We are overwhelmed and proud to own such an iconic destination. Acquiring the freehold enables us to elevate and invest in the store in order to partner with a broad range of luxury brands in future. This is fantastic news for all parties.”
Kevin Sims of CBRE, who represented House of Fraser during the acquisition, added: “This is a fantastic deal for Glasgow and Scotland. It is an iconic store and much of the success of Buchanan Street over the last 20 years has been built around having Frasers as an important anchor tenant for the street. This fully cements House of Fraser’s intent to create a luxury department store business.”
