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| More House of Fraser stores to close, warns Mike Ashley | More House of Fraser stores to close, warns Mike Ashley |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| House of Fraser department stores will be closing in 2020, Sports Direct boss Mike Ashley has warned. | House of Fraser department stores will be closing in 2020, Sports Direct boss Mike Ashley has warned. |
| Mr Ashley - whose business bought the department stores a year ago - said that while some stores were not paying rent they were still "unsustainable". | Mr Ashley - whose business bought the department stores a year ago - said that while some stores were not paying rent they were still "unsustainable". |
| "We are doing as much as we can to realistically save as many jobs and stores as possible," said Mr Ashley. | "We are doing as much as we can to realistically save as many jobs and stores as possible," said Mr Ashley. |
| Shares in Sports Direct jumped 19% after it reported a rise pre-tax half year profits to £193.4m. | Shares in Sports Direct jumped 19% after it reported a rise pre-tax half year profits to £193.4m. |
| Sports Direct shareholders met on Monday and voted to change the retailer's corporate name to Frasers Group, as part of plans to move upmarket and away from sports. | |
| Animal rights activists gathered outside the meeting, campaigning for House of Fraser to renew its ban on animal fur products. | |
| The move comes after House of Fraser customers discovered that the retailer was back to selling fur products in November, after pledging not to use it in 2017. | |
| In its latest results, the retailer also reiterated that a €674m (£605m) bill from Belgium's tax authority would not lead to "material liabilities" and said it would find a resolution soon. | |
| Mr Ashley used the results statement for the six months to 27 September to set out a number of reasons for the problems at House of Fraser, including "serious under-investment" in stores and appropriate support services. | Mr Ashley used the results statement for the six months to 27 September to set out a number of reasons for the problems at House of Fraser, including "serious under-investment" in stores and appropriate support services. |
| Mr Ashley said: "We are continuing to review the longer-term portfolio and would expect the number of retained stores to continue to reduce in the next 12 months". | Mr Ashley said: "We are continuing to review the longer-term portfolio and would expect the number of retained stores to continue to reduce in the next 12 months". |
| When House of Fraser went into administration, it had 59 stores, two warehouses and employed almost 16,000 staff. It has been reported that seven of those stores have been closed. |