Retail Tycoon Philip Day In Talks to Buy Closing Marks and Spencer and House of Fraser Stores
Day in Talks to Buy M&S, House of Fraser Stores, Telegraph Says
(Bloomberg) -- Retail tycoon Philip Day is in talks to buy a number of Marks and Spencer Group Plc and House of Fraser stores that are scheduled to close, the Telegraph reported.
The Dubai-based billionaire is in discussions to snap up around 10 stores from M&S, which is halfway through a cost-cutting plan to close 100 of its U.K. shops, the newspaper said without citing sources. Day is also in negotiations with House of Fraser’s landlords about buying some of the chain’s smaller stores when its lease agreements end in September.
Day and House of Fraser owner Mike Ashley were said to have discussed carving up the department store chain before Ashley bought it out of administration last year.
Day and Ashley couldn’t be reached for comment.
Day has a personal fortune of more than 1 billion pounds ($1.3 billion) and owns brands including Edinburgh Woollen Mill, Peacocks and Jaeger, the newspaper said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Ellen Milligan in London at emilligan11@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Eric Pfanner at epfanner1@bloomberg.net, Christopher Elser, James Amott
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