New job threat at Homebase

...as fears mount for House of Fraser

THE new owner of Homebase is poised to shut up to 80 stores, putting as many as 2,000 jobs at risk.

Hilco, which bought the lossmaking chain in May for £1, is set to reveal its plans next week.

The closures – through a proposed Company Voluntary Arrangement – could see between 60 and 80 of Homebase’s 249 remaining stores go.

It came as emergency talks over the future of struggling House of Fraser continued.

The department store chain’s fate was thrown into fresh doubt after a Chinese investor pulled the plug on a planned injection of funds.

Sources say negotiations on various outcomes – including a possible buyer for all or part of the chain – are ongoing.

However, the longer they last the greater the risk of House of Fraser becoming the biggest high street collapse since BHS, and 17,000 jobs will be under threat.

It was confirmed yesterday that the first of 31 planned House of Fraser store closures will take place next month.

Fraser in Edinburgh will shut by September 15, with staff offered jobs at its nearby Jenners store.

That will help House of Fraser, which has a £5million-a-month rent bill across its entire estate.

Meanwhile restructuring experts at Alvarez & Marsal are lined up to oversee Homebase’s Company Voluntary Arrangement, according to Sky News, which first revealed the plans.

A number of other struggling retailers – including House of Fraser – have used CVAs to cut their outgoings.

Homebase was bought by Australia’s Wesfarmers for £340m in 2016.

It turned into one of the most disastrous takeovers in recent times after plans to convert the stores to its Bunnings brand proved a costly flop.

Homebase, Hilco and House of Fraser did not comment.

Shares in online giant Amazon hit a record high yesterday, valuing the US giant at around £715billion.