May closure date for House of Fraser

Lincoln’s House of Fraser store will shut its doors for the final time in May.

The closure has been announced through notices posted in the store’s windows and clearance sales of stock have started, but Hello Lincoln has not been able to get a comment from owners, the Fraser Group.

The future of the site, which has operated as retail premises for two centuries, remains unclear. The store was saved from closure in 2018 when Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct Internation bought the House of Fraser Group after it had gone into administration.

Ashley described the state of the business was ‘nothing short of terminal’ in 2019 and announced that stores would have to close. 

In 2020 plans were submitted to City of Lincoln Council for the demolition of the store to build a hotel on the site, but these did not come to fruition – perhaps due to the Covid pandemic – and the planning permission has now lapsed.

No further proposals have been submitted.

The writing may have been on the wall for House of Fraser in Lincoln for some time, but its closure in May will be a blow for the retail centre of the city, which has less empty stores than other comparable cities.

Cllr Joshua Wells, Portfolio Holder for Inclusive Economic Growth, said: “It is disappointing to see House of Fraser is closing. However, I would say our high Street is still a vibrant place. We are beating the regional average for our vacancies. We’re doing really well in trying to drive that footfall here.”

See the history of site in the Heritage section.

Picture: Gerald England