Barkers store in Kensington to close
House of Fraser has announced that its Barkers store in Kensington will close in January 2006. The decision comes following a review of current and future requirements in the central London area.
House of Fraser currently trades from the lower ground, ground, first and second floors comprising 87,000 sq ft of trading space.The Company has exchanged contracts to surrender the lease on the second floor in November this year to Relsa Barkers Limited, the freeholder, who will re-let this space to Associated Newspapers, which currently occupies the remaining upper floors of the property.
House of Fraser has also exchanged contracts to sell the lease on the lower-ground, ground and first floors, to Whole Foods Market.
John Coleman, Chief Executive of House of Fraser, said ‘We continue to review our portfolio of stores, in some cases taking the difficult decision to close those which do not fit with our mid to long term strategy. At the same time, we are developing the portfolio by adding stores in strategically important locations. We have one of the strongest store-opening programmes and are in the process of acquiring the Beatties Group that would improve our representation in the West Midlands. House of Fraser is extremely grateful to all Barkers staff for their commitment to the store and the group and will be seeking to redeploy staff into other London and South East locations.’
