// House of Fraser flagship store on London’s Oxford Street to permanently close
// The store has been given notice by its landlord and will close in January 2022
// The building was first opened in 1937 when it was occupied by department store DH Evans
Frasers Group has announced that the House of Fraser flagship store on London’s Oxford Street is set to permanently close.
Since billionaire owner Mike Ashley acquired the department store chain in 2018, the business has “worked collaboratively with the landlord to keep the store trading”.
The House of Fraser store will close in January next year.
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Frasers Group said the store has been trading “three years longer than what was initially proposed by the previous owner”.
It is continuing to “invest significantly into the British high street” and has requested an urgent review of the current “archaic business rates”.
The group said if business rates were reviewed, it would support the future of House of Fraser – otherwise further store closures are inevitable.
The building was first opened in 1937 when it was occupied by department store DH Evans.
The news comes after House of Fraser announced last week that the store on London’s Oxford Street will be revamped with £100 million investment after receiving planning permission.
Westminster City Council’s Planning Committee had granted permission for Public Properties Establishment to refurbish the site on 318 Oxford Street.
The large scale development would have seen the building being given an extensive refurbishment to fix its exterior and convert its upper floors into office space.
It would have also received a top floor restaurant with 360 degree views of the surrounding area. The majority of the building would have been developed into six floors of offices.
The top two floors would have been demolished and replaced with three, taking the building to eight stories high.
As well as offices, the building will have featured space for a gym and basement pool alongside existing retail space.
“It is with regret that we have been served notice by the landlord to close House of Fraser, Oxford Street – following granted planning permission to redevelop the site,” A Frasers Group spokesperson said.
“We would like to take this opportunity to thank our staff for their hard work and dedication.”
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