Floundering House of Fraser turns to KPMG

The retailer, which has 59 stores, 6,000 staff and 11,500 concession staff and was acquired by Chinese conglomerate Sanpower in 2014, has called in the “Big Four” firm to produce a restructuring plan through the examining of all options, including a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA).

The development follows a January appeal to landlords to cut rents in the wake of poor Christmas trading during a period that also saw the Moody’s credit agency downgrad its credit rating for the business.

While no decision has yet been made on how the firm should proceed, it is likely a CVA would see again seek an agreement from landlords to reduce rents and maybe shut some of its 59 stores.

In a statement a spokesperson said the chain could only confirm that they had appointed KPMG and were “working closely with them to look at options that best support our transformation programme”.

Fellwo high street retailers New Look and Carpetright have both entered into CVAs, while Mothercare, Debenhams and Homebase are also coming under similar pressure.