House of Fraser to reveal new boss by 'end of the month'

The department store group reported an encouraging set of results this morning, with both profits and sales up.

Pre-tax profits more than doubled from £1.3m to £3.4m while like-for-likes advanced 0.9% in the year to January 28.

Chief financial officer Colin Elliot said that search for a new chief executive was “almost at the point” of being announced.

He added: “We were hoping to be able to make an announcement today but logistics got in the way. There will be an announcement by the end of the month. We’re very pleased [with the appointment].”

House of Fraser’s update revealed flat gross transaction value this morning, coming in at £1.3bn.

EBITDA fell by £2.7m to £63.6m because of “a reduction in financial services income of £3.9m in the first half”. This is a legacy issue and is not expected to affect the chain in future years.

Elliot said: “As you know, last year was quite a challenging year for us. Our results were less good for first three quarters but fourth quarter sales were very strong, particularly in November and that strong trading extended into January.

“You are beginning to see the benefits of the infrastructure part of the strategy, particularly logistics costs. That combination is what delivered such a good result for the fourth quarter.”

He added that the business had not experienced a shift in consumer behaviour from Brexit or other political uncertainties and that House of Fraser would deal with currency headwinds by “being smarter in our promotional activities” rather than increasing headline prices.