House of Fraser has become the latest high street name to send shockwaves through the finance sector, after it revealed that its lenders have called in EY to review the business’ performance.
Sky News reported the news on Friday night, which has been furthered by reports that talks with creditors to secure a further £40 million of funding collapsed over the weekend. The department store’s CEOs allegedly met with retailer-turnaround specialist Alteri, but were unable to reach a deal due to the large amounts of debt.
The department store announced that it had appointed Rothschild to oversee its debt refinancing last month, and one of its credit insurers stopped their cover after weak Christmas results.
The recent news has sparked fears that House of Fraser may become the next retailer to fall prey to the crisis gripping the high street, after the collapse of both Toys R’ Us and Maplin over the last month. Speculation may be either alleviated or heightened in mid-April, when the department store is set to announce its full-year results.