End of the line for 135-year-old store
House of Fraser has announced the closure of its Barkers store in London's Kensington. As revealed by Retail Week this morning, US fresh foods retailer Whole Foods Market will take on a large part of the site.

The assets of the building have a net book value of£8.8 million and House of Fraser has said it will make£400,000 on the deal. However, the costs related to closing the store will produce an overall exceptional loss for the retailer.

The shop, which has been owned by House of Fraser since 1957, will close in January next year. The retailer trades from 87,000 sq ft (8,085 sq m) on the lower ground to second floors. House of Fraser signed a deal to hand over the second floor of the building to Associated Newspapers, publisher of the Evening Standard, in November. Associated Newspapers already occupies the upper floors.

House of Fraser chief executive John Coleman said: 'We continue to review our portfolio of stores in some cases, taking the difficult decision to close those that do not fit in with our mid- to long-term strategy. At the same time, we are developing our portfolio by adding strategically important locations.'

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