Mike Ashley's Frasers Group has said the cap on business rates relief announced in the Budget could stop it taking over ex-Debenhams stores and force a review of its own estate.
It said the £2m cap on business rates relief rendered the package "near worthless" for large retailers.
The rates holiday for non-essential retailers in England now runs to June.
Rates will then be discounted by two-thirds for nine months, up to a maximum of £2m if businesses are closed.
"For Frasers Group, this cap will make it nearly impossible to take on ex-Debenhams sites with the inherent jobs created," the group said in a statement.
The Debenhams brand and website were bought by fast fashion firm Boohoo in January, leaving many of the chain's 118 remaining shops vacant.
It has been reported that Frasers Group is in currently in talks over taking on a number of former Debenhams stores.
Billionaire Mike Ashley, who founded Sports Direct and also owns House of Fraser, had made an offer for Debenhams when it was initially put up for sale last April, which was rejected.
The businessman had previously built up a 29% stake in the chain, but saw his £150m holding wiped out in 2019, when the company fell into administration and then ended up in the hands of its lenders - a consortium led by hedge fund Silverpoint.
The group said on Friday that the business rates relief package would "also mean we need to review our entire portfolio to ascertain stores that are unviable due to unrealistic business rates".
It warned last month that it expected a £100m hit due to ongoing restrictions on trading.
In December, Frasers Group it also issued a profit warning, saying previously published guidance of a 20-30% boost in profits was unlikely this financial year.
The retail group also suggested on Friday that many shops would have expected further rates relief "until structural reform is implemented", adding that firms "should pay the fair amount of rates in line with realistic rateable values, but instead we continue to have an unwieldy, overly complex, and out of date business rates regime".
In response to the chancellor's Budget, the British Retail Consortium also said it hoped to see the ongoing business rates review by government reduce this "burden" on retailers.
It added: "Without further funding, it is likely that many 'non-essential' retailers will struggle under sluggish consumer demand and high Covid costs."
In Scotland, retail, hospitality, leisure and aviation businesses will not pay non-domestic rates throughout the next financial year. The Welsh government has said hospitality, retail, leisure and tourism will get full rates relief for another 12 months.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiLGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJiYy5jby51ay9uZXdzL2J1c2luZXNzLTU2MjkwNDIx0gEwaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYmJjLmNvLnVrL25ld3MvYW1wL2J1c2luZXNzLTU2MjkwNDIx?oc=5
2021-03-05 09:39:14Z
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