House of Fraser buys ‘Harrods of the North’

The beleaguered high street department store chain was rescued at the eleventh hour in August by controversial industry figure Mike Ashley‘s Sports Direct empire in a £90 million deal.

The firm said today’s announcement is great news for the entire House of Fraser workforce including the 800 in-store jobs that have been saved.

The listed building extends to circa 350,000 sq ft arranged over multiple floors and the flagship store has a strong luxury brand presence including Hermes, Christian Louboutin, Prada and Gucci.

The firm said the acquisition of the building provides “a fantastic base to create and build on the existing luxury offer in order to create the Harrods of the North” and demonstrates “House of Fraser’s significant commitment to transforming the company”.

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, said: “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.”

Susan Aitken, leader of Glasgow City Council, said: “Glasgow is the country’s number one retail centre after London – and the House of Fraser store on Buchanan Street is a city institution, much loved by generations of Glaswegians. A major investment on this kind of scale is a clear vote of confidence in Glasgow; and credit must also go to hundreds of Fraser’s staff, who are absolutely integral to the business’ success and its enduring popularity with city shoppers. With the future of this iconic retailer’s Glasgow presence secured, we look forward to the new owners building on its cherished relationship with shoppers and reputation as a valued city employer for almost 170 years.”