Mike Ashley is the current tenant of Edinburgh’s Jenners building which is owned by Danish billionaire Anders Holch Povlsen.

According to BBC Scotland, three signs were removed from the building without Povlsen’s permission or knowledge. Whilst Ashley currently owns the commercial rights to the Jenners trading name, it is Povlsen who is liable for the removal of the signage.

Jenners was once Scotland’s oldest independent department store until the business was acquired by House of Fraser in 2005.

The building first opened its doors in 1838 when Jenners was founded as “Kennington & Jenner”. When the store was destroyed by a fire in 1892, Scottish architect William Hamilton Beattie designed a replacement which opened in 1895.

The three signs which are made up of large gold lettering which spell the word ‘Jenners’, are believed to be part of the listed building, and as a result, a listed building enforcement notice has been sent to both the owner and tenant by the City of Edinburgh Council.

Frasers Group has three months to rectify the issue from May 14th when the notice comes into effect.

Edinburgh Rope Access was hired to remove the signage with the job taking two days to complete. Speaking to BBC Scotland, owner Nicky Erskine says that the letters are currently being stored on the sixth floor of the store.

Locals took to Twitter to express upset and shock at the signage having been removed with one user writing: “Really sad that this has been taken off the iconic building, […] it shouldn’t have come off and it wouldn’t surprise me if it was Frasers. Hope the owners of the building can get it sorted soon.”

When contacted for comment, a spokesperson for Edinburgh Rope Access said the company is unable to expand further.

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