Sports Direct has backfliped on a decision to shut down all four House of Fraser stores situated within Intu shopping centres.
House of Fraser’s stores located within Intu’s Lakeside in Essex, Metrocentre in Gateshead, Norwich and Nottingham schemes will now continue to operate in the advent of “constructive discussions”.
The news comes two months after Sports Direct, which bought House of Fraser out of administration in a £90 million pre-pack deal last summer, first announced it would close those four Intu stores after failing to agree terms.
At the time, Sports Direct founder and chief executive Mike Ashley said: “We had multiple meetings with Intu, but we were no further forward after 14 weeks.
“Unfortunately, these stores now face closing in the New Year.
“I urge other institutional landlords to be more proactive to help save the House of Fraser stores in their schemes.”
This morning, Intu confirmed it has now come to an “an interim agreement” with Sports Direct, which means the House of Fraser shops will remain open for the immediate future.
“We are committed to working with all our retailers to ensure they are perfectly placed to showcase their brands and draw in shoppers,” a spokesman for the shopping centre giant said.
He added: “We confirm that following constructive discussions with Sports Direct, we have reached an interim agreement on four House of Fraser stores at Intu Chapelfield, Intu Lakeside, Intu Metrocentre and Intu Victoria Centre.”
