Jobs saved as Lincoln House of Fraser earns reprieve

Mike Ashley, the new owner of House of Fraser, has branded retail landlords as “greedy” – despite handing out a reprieve to the struggling chain’s Lincoln outlet, which had been earmarked for closure.

The Lincoln store will now stay open, but Ashley has failed to agree terms with landlords in Edinburgh, Hull and Swindon meaning hundreds of jobs will be lost.

When he bought House of Fraser, Ashley pledged to save 47 of its 59 outlets.

Ashley said: “We’ve shown what we can achieve on the British high street when we work together with landlords. I would like to thank those landlords who have helped us to rescue approximately 3,500 jobs at the stores we have saved to date.”

Others that have been saved from closure include stores in Altrincham, Aylesbury, Camberley, Carlisle, Darlington, Doncaster, Grimsby, High Wycombe, Middlesbrough, Plymouth, Skipton, Telford, Huddersfield, Leeds, Maidstone, Solihull and Sutton Coldfield.