27
Fashion Jobs
By
Reuters
Published
Jun 16, 2009
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House of Fraser says not planning to sell stores

By
Reuters
Published
Jun 16, 2009

LONDON, June 16 (Reuters) - British department stores group House of Fraser denied on Tuesday 16 June it was considering selling any of its stores and said it was trading ahead of its expectations, with sales growth in the last 12 weeks.


House of Fraser Spring-Summer 2009

Earlier on Tuesday 16 June, the Times newspaper reported talk that rival department stores group Debenhams (DEB.L) might be looking to buy some or all of House of Fraser's 62 stores.

"House of Fraser would like to clarify that it currently has no intention of selling any of its 62 stores," the privately owned firm said in a statement.

The group added that, as of June 15, it had cash in the bank of over 85 million pounds ($140 million), and further available working capital facilities of 36 million.

"This is sufficient to meet all its obligations for the foreseeable future," it said, adding "the business remains fully compliant with all of the conditions contained within its banking agreements."

At 1345 GMT, Debenhams shares were up 0.6 percent at 78.5 pence.

(Reporting by Mark Potter; editing by John Stonestreet)

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