Frasers Group makes multi-million dollar bets on malls

Michael Murray, chief executive of the Frasers Group, said recent decisions to buy malls in Luton and Dundee were part of a plan to move them in. with other brands of his company. Photo: Ben Gurr/Times Newspapers Ltd.

This year, the FTSE 100 acquired The Mall in Luton for £58m and the Overgate Center in Dundee for £30m.

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The company is also said to is bidding for the Junction 32 shopping center on the outskirts of Leeds, close to Castleford.

Mr. Murray said the deals will allow Frasers to secure profitable retail space for their ever-growing collection of brands, which now includes House of Fraser, Sports Direct, Flannels, Game, Jack Wills, Evans Cycles and Everlast Gyms, among others.

He told The Telegraph: «We have hundreds of stores in the UK and we've got as good data as any other retailer whose outlets sell better than others.

«If you take Luton mall, we've been trading there for decades, there are no out-of-town stores to move to, the main street doesn't really exist — everything is centered around [the mall].»

Buying the entire mall «gives the opportunity to walk in, install Frasers — just the right size — lifted by Sports Direct, bring flannels, install Everlast Gym, really repurpose it to our own professional requirements,» he said.

When Frasers satisfied with his presence in the malls, he will sell them, he added.

«Just like this year, we sold about £200 million worth of real estate because we added all the value of these malls and malls through our professional needs.»

He said, that physical stores remain an important way to serve customers despite the growth of online shopping.

«We believe that bricks and clicks are much stronger together than they are individually.»

Frasers Group on On Thursday, the company reported a profit of £661m for the year to the end of April, almost double the £336m it made last year.

This comes after the company bought up a tailor Gieves & Hawkes, along with 15 brands from rival JD Sports, including Choice and Missy Empire.

The retailer also bought stakes in Curry's and Boohoo, sparking speculation about its intentions.

B As a result of the acquisition incident, the group's annual revenue jumped more than 15% to £5.6bn.

Frasers said it expects earnings to continue rising next year as «momentum» continues.< /p>