House Of Fraser Shares On Market

More that one-fifth of shares in House of Fraser are being put up for sale, prompting a new round of City speculation on a takeover of the department store group. Dealers said that investment bank Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein is looking to place 49.2m House of Fraser shares on behalf of an unnamed party. The holding amounts to around 21 per cent of the total shares in the business.

Last month it was reported that entrepreneur Tom Hunter, who launched an ultimately unsuccessful takeover attempt for House of Fraser towards the end of 2002, could be selling his 11 per cent stake in the business. House of Fraser has been regularly linked to a merger with rival Allders over recent years. Allders itself is likely to be under new ownership soon as a result of the planned sale of its majority owner, property company Minerva.