Frasers Group to take £200m Covid hit over third wave concerns
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Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group, which owns Sports Direct and House of Fraser, expects to take a £200m hit due to coronavirus, and warned that further restrictions on retail are “almost certain”.
Frasers Group said it anticipates a non-cash impairment of more than £200m in the value of its properties and other assets.
The retailer said the government’s warnings over a potential “third wave” of the pandemic, and statements on normality being “some way off”, mean it believes further restrictions are almost inevitable .
“In our ongoing assessment we note the continuing Government and Government advisor pronouncements regarding “third waves” and normality being “some way off”, meaning further restrictions are in our view almost certain,” the firm said in a statement this morning.
“We also note the Covid-19 affected experiences, estimates, and judgements from other leading retailers.”
In February Frasers Group had predicted that it would face a non-cash impairment of around £100m.
At the time the retailer, which also owns Evans Cycles and Jack Wills, said the length of the current lockdown, potential changes to consumer behaviour and the risk of future restrictions had contributed to the non-cash impairment.