House of Fraser has announced a shake-up that will see stores in Aberdeen and Dundee shutting next January.

A store in Perth will close in September, prior to it being taken over by the group's rival Debenhams.

The stores are said to have failed to meet the company's long-term requirements, but management said they regretted having to close them.

We regret their closure and would like to acknowledge the commitment and enthusiasm of all our staff in the stores we have agreed to sell

John Coleman House of Fraser

The Aberdeen and Dundee stores, which employ a total of 185 full and part-time staff, have been acquired by Glasgow-based construction and property group Dawn Developments.

They will remain open until the middle of January 2003.

The handover of the Perth branch is due to be completed by the end of September. Staff there have been told they will be taken on by Debenhams.

'Heavy investment'

A spokesman for House of Fraser said new jobs would be created by the intended development of the Aberdeen and Dundee sites for retail use.

John Coleman, chief executive of House of Fraser, said: "Unfortunately, neither our Aberdeen or Dundee stores meet our long-term requirements.

"We regret their closure and would like to acknowledge the commitment and enthusiasm of all our staff in the stores we have agreed to sell."

He added: "House of Fraser has invested heavily and successfully in its Scottish stores in recent years and retains a strong commitment to retailing in Scotland."

The firm said it had no plans to close any of its other 51 stores in the UK at present, including its four Scottish branches in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness and Paisley.