Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group has acquired the department store chain Harvey Nichols through a pre-pack administration covering about 1,000 jobs, the retailer’s six UK stores and its online and international franchise operations, according to administrators FTI Consulting.
FTI said the deal “safeguards a 200-year-old institution”.
Frasers, the FTSE 100 retailer, said it would begin a “significant restructuring” of Harvey Nichols to “right-size the business” and return it to profit. It said it would integrate the chain into the group and review and “rationalise” the store portfolio, organisational structure, operating model and cost base.
Michael Murray, chief executive of Frasers and Ashley’s son-in-law, said: “The turnaround will require tough choices, and we are prepared to make those decisions, even if that means a smaller business in the near term, to create a stronger and more sustainable Harvey Nichols for the long term.”
The deal follows a sales process in which Frasers beat Next, the London-listed retailer, to take control of the business.
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