House of Fraser Oxford Street flagship to close

Frasers Group is set to close its House of Fraser department store on Oxford Street, W1, after plans were approved to redevelop the site. The retail group said it had been served notice by the landlord to shut the department store, at 318 Oxford Street. It will close in January next year. Publica Properties was granted permission for a part-redevelopment into a £100m office-led scheme last week. A spokesperson for Frasers Group said; “Since acquiring in 2018, despite challenges faced, we have worked collaboratively with the landlord to keep the store trading three years longer than what was initially proposed by the previous owner. “As a business that is continuing to invest significantly into the British high street, we feel it’s only fair to recognise and request an urgent review of the current archaic business rates, which continue to be astonishingly outdated. If business rates were reviewed it would support the future of House of Fraser. Without this, further store closures are inevitable.” To send feedback, e-mail pui-guan.man@eg.co.uk or tweet @PuiGuanM or @EGPropertyNews Image © Xinhua/Shutterstock