Mike Ashley "raised his bet on the struggling" U.K. high street after his Sports Direct chain agreed to buy House of Fraser out of administration for £90M ($114.9M) in cash, in a deal that "could leave thousands of pensioners with lower incomes," according to Jonathan Eley of the FINANCIAL TIMES. The acquisition consists of "all of the UK stores of House of Fraser, the House of Fraser brand and all of the stock in the business," the group said in a statement. The deal comes just weeks after Ashley had to write off £85M ($108.5M) on Sports Direct's 29.9% investment in Debenhams, a "rival department store chain to House of Fraser." Ashley later described the deal as "a massive step forward" and promised to "keep as many stores open as possible." He said, "My ambition is to transform House of Fraser into Harrods of the High Street," reprising an earlier promise to turn Sports Direct into "the Selfridges of sport" (FT, 8/10). BLOOMBERG's Eric Pfanner reported the move came after House of Fraser, which employs 17,000 people directly and through contractors, on Friday went to court to "seek protection from creditors." House of Fraser CEO of Retail Economics Richard Lim said in a statement, "This is a hugely ambitious move for Sports Direct. Turning around the business will not come easy" (BLOOMBERG, 8/10).
