This Store Only ?

Today’s Covid-19 Exercise Walk took me past the back door of Debenhams (it should really be Debenham’s but like most high street stores the apostrophe has been dropped). The sign on the window signals that the store is closing but the “This Store Only” qualification is now sadly out of date following the announcement on Monday that the brand was sold for £55 million to Boohoo and that all of the 188 stores throughout the UK will close.  That puts an end to Debenhams’ 242 years of trading on the high street and a slice of our shopping culture vanishes. 
According to the Times  “The seeds of its demise can be traced to an infamous private equity-led asset stripping.  TPG Capital, Merrill Lynch Private Equity and CVC Capital took Debenhams private in a £1.7 billion leveraged buyout in 2003, paying down the £1.1 billion of debt they loaded on to the chain by selling and leasing back its stores on 25-year deals, as well as squeezing suppliers. Within months they had taken a £130 million dividend, and in just three years they made more than three times the £600 million of equity they originally put in.”

What now for Edinburgh Princes Street site I wonder ?  Another hotel, bar and eatery ?  Time for a planning re-think I suggest.