House of Fraser bidder's £1bn+ loan pot could boost chain's expansion

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Apr 2, 2018

House of Fraser’s precarious financial position could be easing on reports that its potential new majority owner has a more than £1 billion investment war chest and that the £15 million cash infusion it got from its current owners could be matched by another £15 million pounds if needed.

The under pressure department store retailer is in the sights of a Chinese corporation, Fullshare, which has a large stake in Wuji Wenhua, the company in talks to buy a controlling stake in House of Fraser.

An update on the talks to take over House of Fraser is expected this week after discussions have gone on for the last month and press reports said that Fullshare has lined up a £1.1 billion lending facility for “business opportunities” and takeovers.

There has been talk that any takeover would include investment cash being made available to the UK retailer to help it restructure its large debts and add to its two stores in Asia.

While there was concern when news of the takeover talks emerged that Wuji Wenhua did not have specific retail experience, Fullshare’s investments do include the giant Nanjing shopping mall Wonder City.

Whatever results we see from the talks, it has also emerged that the £15 million current owner Sanpower injected into House of Fraser could just be the start. The Sunday Times said at the weekend that Sanpower is ready to match that sum in the short term to provide the business with much-needed working capital.