Fears Jenners name may go in takeover

Published on Friday 14 July 2006 12:26

FEARS were raised today that the Jenners name could disappear if the planned £350 million takeover of owner House of Fraser by an Icelandic retail investor goes ahead.

Baugur is expected to put an offer to House of Fraser's board in mid-August. And reports today claimed a takeover could lead to the death of the surviving individual shop names in the House of Fraser empire. Jenners was sold to House of Fraser for 46m in March last year, with the new owner saying it would not tamper with the Jenners brand.

Some retailing experts were sceptical about the likelihood of any move to drop the Jenners name. Fiona Moriarty of the Scottish Retail Consortium said: "Jenners is a well-known and well-loved institution in Edinburgh.

"Many people would be disappointed if anything happened to the name associated with such a fantastic retailing site."

A spokesman for House of Fraser

said: "Jenners is here to stay as long as the business remains under its current ownership."

But he added that if the ownership changed, the matter would be beyond its control.