Business

Hamleys in talks to buy stake in House of Fraser

The owner of Hamleys has entered into discussions to acquire a stake in troubled department store House of Fraser.
The owner of Hamleys has entered into discussions to acquire a stake in troubled department store House of Fraser. The owner of Hamleys has entered into discussions to acquire a stake in troubled department store House of Fraser.

THE owner of Hamleys has entered into discussions to acquire a stake in troubled department store House of Fraser.

C Banner International Holdings, which bought Hamleys in 2015, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Nanjing Xinjiekou department store, a company affiliated with House of Fraser's owner Sanpower.

The agreement signifies that C Banner and Nanjing have entered into talks about a sale of a stake in House of Fraser, although discussions are still at an early stage.

Shanghai-listed Nanjing owns an 89 per cent stake in House of Fraser, and is a subsidiary of Sanpower, a Chinese conglomerate chaired by billionaire Yuan Yafei.

Nanjing is also in discussions with tourism company Wuji Wenhua over selling a 51 per cent stake in the British department store.

House of Fraser last week enlisted advisers at KPMG to look at a possible restructuring that could involve store closures and job losses. House of Fraser has 6,000 employees and 11,500 concession staff across 59 stores, one of which is in Belfast, where it is the anchor tenant at Victoria Square.