 The chairman of House of Fraser raised the possibility of a return to the public markets. Don McCarthy, chairman of the chain that was taken private three years ago for £351m ($581m) by a consortium led by Baugur, said: “At the end of the day,
we are not communists – and it is not something we are going to keep forever.”
However, Mr McCarthy added conditions were currently not right for an initial public offering. “We will do it at a time when it is appropriate,” he said. “At this moment in time, trying to get any mergers and acquisitions out there done is not easy.”
House of Fraser has also been seen as a bid target, with Debenhams’ decision to raise £300m from investors fuelling speculation that it could possibly bid for the chain.
Mr McCarthy also railed against plans to raise the rate of VAT on January 1. “We think the timing of when they are going to do it is bad. It is silly. It’s the busiest time of the year,” he said.
The comments were made as House of Fraser said its trading was improving, with like-for-like sales up 1.3 per cent for the first six weeks of the third quarter, compared with a decline of 2.7 per cent in the first half of its financial year to the end of January.
 Retail earnings before interest, tax and depreciation rose from £9.2m to £10.7m in the first half. The company expects a figure for the full year of £65m to £70m, assisted by cost savings.
House of Fraser said it had paid down or cancelled more than £150m of debt since it was taken private. Debt in the operating company stood at £190m at January’s end. That is expected to be less than £180m by the end of this financial year.
House of Fraser also played down the chances of stakes in it owned by Icelandic banks being sold in the short term. The 34.9 per cent stake owned by Baugur moved to Landsbanki, and is now controlled by the Icelandic government. Separately, Glitnir had a 13.9 per cent stake.
Image: HOF logo
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