AN ELEVENTH-hour deal has been struck to rescue beleaguered House of Fraser out of administration which incorporates all the UK's stores including Skipton.

The "Rackhams" branch had been one of the 31 shops out of a total of 59 outlets which were to be shut next year through a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA).

However, today, Mike Ashley, owner of Sports Direct, has confirmed the takeover, raising hopes for the future of thousands of staff across the country, stating he hopes to transform House of Fraser into the "Harrods of the High Street".

In a stock market announcement, Sports Direct said it has acquired all of the UK stores of House of Fraser, the brand and all of the stock in the business.

The deal was struck through a pre-pack administration process, where a company is put into administration before a new buyer cherry picks the best assets.

The tycoon beat off competition from retail rival Philip Day, the billionaire owner of Edinburgh Woollen Mill.

It is understood that Mr Day's proposal was in excess of £100 million, would have avoided an administration and included House of Fraser's pension scheme.

However, accountancy giant EY, which was overseeing the process, opted for Mr Ashley's offer.

Sources said that Mr Ashley, who also owns Newcastle United Football Club, will now begin the process of turning some House of Fraser stores into Sports Direct outlets and rebrand others under the Flannels fascia.

It is not yet known what plans there are for the Skipton site.

Around 80 people are employed at the Skipton branch and in its concessions.

A spokesman for KBA which is overseeing the PR for Sports Direct confirmed the takeover includes all stores in the UK but that there was no further detail at the moment.

Paul Souber, Co-Head of Colliers International’s Retail division commented: “ With the latest news that Mike Ashley has just purchased House of Fraser today, on the one hand, this could be viewed as positive news for high streets nationwide as despite the doom and gloom sentiment surrounding the sector at present, this is really a boost in confidence for both landlords and retailers as well as employees in the trade, who were due to potentially lose their jobs.

“In addition, it will be interesting to see how Sport’s Direct’s multichannel experience could help to turn around House of Fraser’s department stores’ ill-fate.

"As we are all well aware, retailers and landlords are facing the most challenging environment since the post global financial crisis of 2008, driven by changing consumer trends, higher inflation, lower consumer spend and changing shopping habits.

"Over the past year, there’s been a raft of store closures, administrations and CVAs being announced, which in part, has been blamed on the increasing online and social media retail space. Retailers that provide the right experience and service are really adapting the way that people shop, and as a result, are changing the requirement for the bricks and mortar store so it would be interesting to understand Sports Directs’ take on this and whether they really relish the challenge and are able to adapt House of Fraser’s customer experience through online, physical and social sales, in order to keep apace and meet the consumers' requirements of today perhaps utilising in part the Flannels facia.”

Prior to its collapse, Mr Ashley had held an 11 per cent stake in the House of Fraser chain.

Sports Direct said today it has acquired all of the UK stores of House of Fraser, the House of Fraser brand and all of the associated stock. The business was purchased out of administration for a cash consideration of £90m.

Mr Ashley said: “This is a massive step forward and further enhances our strategy of elevation across the Group. This will benefit both House of Fraser and Flannels in the luxury sector. We will do our best to keep as many stores open as possible. It is vital that we restore the right level of ongoing relationships with the luxury brands. Our deal was conservative, consistent and simple. My ambition is to transform House of Fraser into the Harrods of the High Street.”

House of Fraser was plunged into crisis last week after C.banner, the Chinese owner of Hamleys, pulled its investment into the troubled retail chain.

C.banner was planning to buy a 51 per cent stake in the department store and plough £70 million into the ailing retailer, but then scrapped the move.

Like other retailers, House of Fraser has been stung by soaring costs and falling consumer spending power.

The company saw its business rates bills rise £3.99 million to £30.24 million this year following a Government revaluation, according to research group Altus.

Richard Lim, of Retail Economics, said: "The combination of rapidly rising costs against a backdrop of seismic shifts in the way we all shop is pushing traditional business models to the brink.

"The race is on to pivot business structures fast enough to be fit-for-purpose in today's digital world.

Criticism has also been levelled at House of Fraser's former Chinese owner, Yuan Yafei's Sanpower

"Individual circumstances need to be accounted for. The demise of House of Fraser in many ways has been the result of poor leadership, paralysis in innovation and crippling levels of debt," Mr Lim added.