// Hammerson reportedly in talks to break at least 2 House of Fraser leases to repurpose space
// House of Fraser has units in Hammerson’s The Oracle in Reading & Cabot Circus in Bristol
Hammerson is reportedly in discussions about breaking at least two House of Fraser leases in two of its retail schemes in order to repurpose space.
The struggling department store chain currently has units in Hammerson’s The Oracle centre in Reading and Cabot Circus scheme in Bristol, where the landlord is seeking to break clauses, according to a report in Retail Week.
Hammerson is reportedly seeking to bring more contemporary fashion retailers to take individual floors within the department stores’ space.
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House of Fraser is currently a tenant on two other Hammerson schemes – Centrale in Croydon and Dundrum Shopping Centre.
In 2016, Hammerson took space back from House of Fraser in its Highcross centre in Leicester, and repurposed the unit with a Zara flagship store and a JD Sports.
At its interim results this July, Hammerson reported that its net rental income on its UK flagships was down 6.8 per cent, while valuations were down 4.4 per cent in the first half of 2019.
Meanwhile, House of Fraser has been struggling since before it was acquired out of administration by Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct for £90 million last year.
However, Sports Direct revealed in its delayed results in July that House of Fraser’s problems were “terminal in nature”.
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