// Frasers Group ordered City of Edinburgh to reinstate the letters of the Jenners sign after they were removed
// Council alleges that Mike Ashley’s firm “without listed building consent” removed “the individual letters forming ‘Jenners’”
// Frasers Group has been given three months to comply after the notice takes effect on May 14.
Frasers Group has been ordered to reinstate the letters of the Jenners sign after they were removed from the Edinburgh landmark.
City of Edinburgh Council has issued a formal notice to the Mike Ashley-owned retail firm, over work “executed to the listed building… having regard to the effect of the works on the character of the building as one of special architectural or historic interest”.
Jenners has been a landmark department store on Princes Street for more than 180 years, previously trading as an independent retailer until it was acquired by the Al-Fayed family – then-owners of House of Fraser and also former owners of Harrods – in 2005.
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Unlike other acquisitions that saw a rebrand and rename, Jenners managed to keep its identity – although it was still considered and traded as a House of Fraser site nonetheless.
House of Fraser has been owned by Frasers Group since August 2018, when it was acquired in a pre-pack administration deal.
The City of Edinburgh alleged that Ashley’s company “without listed building consent” removed “the individual letters forming ‘Jenners’ located at high level on both the eastern (South St David Street) and southern (Princes Street) elevations”.
The council said the firm was required to “reinstate the letters to their original location on the eastern and southern elevations of the department store to form the name ‘Jenners’”.
Another section of the notice confirms the letters are intact and are “currently stored in the department store”.
Frasers Group has been given three months to comply after the notice takes effect on May 14.
Ashley can appeal against the notice, but the council said “any appeal must be received, or posted in time to be received, by Scottish ministers” before that date.
Retail Gazette has contacted Frasers Group for comment.
Earlier this year Frasers Group announced it would permanently shut down the iconic Jenners store after it failed to reach an agreement with the owner of the building, Anders Povlsen, to continue the tenancy.
The closure, slated for May 3, will lead to the loss of 200 jobs.
with PA Wires
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