Richmond's empty House of Fraser department store is up for sale, triggering questions over its future.

It is thought the owners want £23million for the freehold of the building amid rumours it might now be converted into a mix of housing and retail.

The decision to sell follows the apparent failure of attempts to find flagship tenants, such as Marks & Spencer, according to a local property expert.

The sale could see new owners push to put retail on the ground floor and in the basement with the names of budget chains such as Aldi and TK Maxx mentioned.

There is speculation that any new owner would want to convert the four floors above into residential as has happened with other historic department stores.

The iconic building, which first opened in 1968 as Dickins and Jones, was closed in September 2020 and has been stripped out and sitting empty ever since.

The owners have won planning permission to convert the building into a mix of retail on the ground and basement floors with offices and terraces above.

The failure to find tenants for two years for the retail and office users could, in theory, allow a purchaser of the site push for a change of use to residential.

A marketing brochure for the building, which fronts George Street, states the property includes: "Freehold landmark building in the heart of Richmond upon Thames, one of London's most affluent and desirable locations.

"Within a few moments of Richmond Green, Richmond Riverside and Richmond Station."

It describes it as a 'virtual island site' of half an acre. It not only includes the department store, but also some properties fronting Paved Court and King Street.

The marketing brochure says the existing building area has a floor space of just under 80,000sq ft, adding: "All buildings have been stripped out and are offered with full vacant possession."

The building itself is not listed, however it sits in a conservation area and has, historically, been the anchor of Richmond's attraction for retailers and shoppers.

The brochure celebrates the attractions of Richmond, including its theatres, historic buildings, Royal Parks, Twickenham Stadium and Ham Polo Club.

It adds: "The town has attracted a number of tech companies with high profile tenants such as PayPal, eBay, Gumtree, Graze.com and Notonthehighstreet.com located in the area"

It also points out that Richmond is a popular tourist destination with 4.5m visitors a year.

The building is currently owned by Canadian and Arcadia. Last year, its project liaison manager, Greg Miles, recently wrote a blog giving an update on the scheme on the website of BeRichmond, which promotes the town's businesses.

At the time, he said the company is 'advanced stages of negotiations with a number of potential occupiers'.

He added: "Two large national retailers are interested in taking the majority of the retail space, while several leisure businesses are interested in taking the remaining retail/leisure space."

However, the decision to sell the building in its entirety suggest these are not being pursued – at least for now. There is no mention of any retailers or companies having any sort of agreement to occupy the building.

A number of empty House of Fraser and Debenhams department stores around the country are in the process of being converted to apartments and offices.

For example, the Debenhams store in Staines has been acquired by a developer to be converted into a residential-led, mixed-use scheme. As in Richmond, the vacant department store has four storeys and a basement on a 0.66-acre site.

The former family-owned Randalls department store in Uxbridge, West London, has been converted into 14 apartments seven years after closing its doors for the last time in 2015.

UPDATE - owners of empty Richmond department store say they have had 'numerous approaches from investors and developers'.

A spokesperson for Canadian and Arcadia said: "Since the plans were consented in 2021, we have been working incredibly hard to secure tenants for 80 George Street and have engaged with a number of well-known retailers to secure a pre-let that would enable us to bring forward the redevelopment without doing so on a speculative basis.

"During that time we had numerous approaches from investors and developers in an increasingly buoyant market. We have taken the decision to list the property for sale and find a new owner with the resources to deliver the scheme.

"Initial strip out works have been completed and the approved plans remain in place for a high-quality retail, leisure and office scheme which will transform this landmark building and create enormous employment opportunities. We believe there will be considerable interest in the site and we hope to provide greater certainty in the coming months."