THE owner of Scotland's two most famous department stores is seeking to slash its rent bill to cut costs amid fears of further casualties on an increasingly embattled high street.
House of Fraser has contacted an undisclosed number of the owners of its 59 UK outlets, which include Jenners in Edinburgh and its flagship store in Glasgow, to ask for substantial rent reductions.
The chain, which was set up in 1849 in Glasgow but is now privately owned by Chinese conglomerate Sanpower is believed to have made the "informal" request in recent weeks.
House of Fraser is expected to publish details of its Christmas trading performance next week, when rival chains including Marks & Spencer and the John Lewis Partnership are also due to update investors and analysts.
While Next, the clothing retailer, kicked off the flurry of festive trading statements with news on Tuesday, it was quickly overshadowed by a drastic profit warning from Debenhams, one of House of Fraser's biggest competitors.
A House of Fraser spokeswoman said: "We can confirm that we have contacted some of our landlords asking for their support as we drive forward with our transformation programme."
The state of House of Fraser's finances has been the subject of speculation for months and saw Moody's, the ratings agency, describing the chain as "a very high credit risk" last month.
House of Fraser declined to provide additional information about the revised terms it was seeking, or how many landlords or stores it affected.
Toys R Us, the toy retailer, won approval for a CVA days before Christmas with landlords and other creditors agreeing to a plan that will see roughly a quarter of its British stores closing.
Next and M&S are among other retailers who have grappled with their cost-bases by seeking rent reduction.
House of Fraser announced in September that it had been handed an additional £15m of funding by Sanpower, with a further £10m committed by it towards a new distribution centre.
Alex Williamson, who was recruited as the chain's chief executive from the Goodwood Estate last year, insisted in the autumn that he had "high expectations" for HoF's turnaround.
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