‘We’re committed to the high street,’ says Frasers boss as profits soar

Frasers remains committed to maintaining a presence on the high street, the group’s boss told MailOnline and This is Money.

The retailer, which owns House of Fraser, Sports Direct and Gieves & Hawkes among other brands, reported a 13 per cent rise in annual profit on Thursday.

Frasers told investors it expects strong growth in its new financial year and said its plan to diversify and move upmarket is working.

Frasers shares rose 9.07 percent or 74.50 pence to 896.00 pence in morning trading, having risen more than 20 percent over the past year.

Speaking to MailOnline and This is Money, Frasers chief executive Michael Murray said the results were “very positive”.

He said: “We believe we have a plan that is working.”

‘We have the best brands, growing international investment in the Nordic region (XXL ASA), the Netherlands (Twin Sports) and Indonesia (opening of Sports Direct stores) and the launch of the new Fraser’s Plus card is very exciting.

‘Our commitment to the High Street will continue.

‘We have invested in space in several shopping centres and we believe that people want to go out and shop.

“We hope the new government will consider cutting corporate taxes that are holding us back. They say they are committed to business, so we hope they will help retailers.

“It will be a matter of survival of the fittest and we are confident that we are in a good place to continue growing.”

The retailer expects further strong growth in its new financial year and said its plan to diversify and move upmarket is paying off. It expects profits for the coming year to rise by up to 15 percent.

The group, controlled by founder Mike Ashley, is pursuing what it calls an “elevator strategy” under Murray, with investments in flagship stores, automation and online operations, and strengthening ties with brands including Nike, Adidas and The North Face.

In recent years, Frasers has diversified from sporting goods retailing into premium and luxury retail, expanded internationally and created a property investment and financial services division.

The group holds strategic equity stakes in a number of retailers including Hugo Boss, ASOS, Boohoo, Currys and AO World.

Frasers made an adjusted pre-tax profit of £544.8m in the year to 28 April, at the top end of its £500m to £500m guidance range and up from £478m in 2022/23. Revenue for the year was £5.54bn.

The retailer said: “Our successful Elevation strategy is driving our strong financial performance, with strategic brand relationships giving us greater access to products from across the Frasers Group.”

He added: “We remain confident that our strategy will drive continued strong performance,” Frasers added.

Profits are forecast for its new financial year of between £575m and £625m.

The group declined to comment on whether Frasers would be interested in bidding for luxury brand Burberry, which warned on profits on Monday and has a lower market value than Frasers.