House of Fraser plans Deansgate store revamp

Manchester's House of Fraser store is to undergo a makeover in the coming months as part of a £150m investment in the 61-store group's portfolio, the company said as it announced solid results for the first half of the year.

HoF, owned by Iceland's Baugur, operates four stores in the North West, in Manchester as well as Carlisle, Altrincham and a Beatties in Birkenhead.

No further details were immediately available of the investment in the Deansgate, Manchester, outlet.

Sales for the six months to the end of July were up 2.9%, and underlying gross profits were up 30% on the last 12 months.

The group has annual sales in excess of £1.25bn and employs 6,500 House of Fraser staff and 10,000 concession staff through 5m sq ft of selling space. The group said £110m of the debt from the acquisition two years ago had been repaid.