DEBS BOSS LASHES OUT

DEBENHAMS chairman Sir Ian Cheshire has lashed out at speculation over its future – insisting the store is not insolvent.

Debs – 29.7pc owned by Mike Ashley – is grappling with £4.6bn of lease commitments and has issued three profit warnings this year. Cheshire, 59, said: ‘It is like having a bunch of nosy neighbours watching your house.

‘Somebody sees somebody in a suit going into a room. The second person concludes it’s a doctor, the third person concludes it’s an undertaker and by the end of the day you’ve got cause of death and everyone’s looking forward to the funeral.’