Mike Ashley calls on councils and landlords to help fix House of Fraser

Mike Ashley has called on brands, local councils and landlords for support with the “significant challenges” he sees in turning House of Fraser around. The statement accompanied Sport Direct’s interim results for the six months ending 28 October. Ashely said: “I have made my views clear that I believe the previous House of Fraser senior management team traded the business while it was insolvent for a long time, this means we have significant challenges ahead in turning House of Fraser around. “I genuinely believe we have acquired a fantastic opportunity and with the efforts of the Sports Direct and House of Fraser teams, and the support of brands, local councils and landlords, we can turn House of Fraser into the Harrods of the high street.” The group’s underlying profit before tax was down by 26.8% to £64.4m. Revenue was up by 4.5% to £1.8m and net debt increased to £505.5m, up from £397m at 29 April 2018. In the UK, the results pointed to “pressure on the high street and store closures due to the elevation strategy, offset by web sales growth”. It said store closures were responsible for UK sports retail revenue drops of 0.2% and European sports retail revenue drops of 5%. However, it did not reveal any further planned closures. Last week, Ashley told MPs at Westminster’s Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee: “The mainstream high street, as we think about it today, is already dead”, pointing to prehistoric rents set before the rise of online retail. He urged councils to offer retailers free business rates for five years if they agreed to match this with investment and called upon landlords to offer a 25% rent reduction. To send feedback, e-mail emma.rosser@egi.co.uk or tweet @EmmaARosser or @estatesgazette