The archive recording the House of Fraser story

The near future of House of Fraser is uncertain. A Chinese backer has pulled out because of its own financial difficulties, leaving the chain of department stores struggling to find a new investor with sufficient funds to pay the rent in September.

However, its past looks secure. An unusually fine business archive is maintained by Glasgow University, as part of the national archive of Scottish business.

The archive began in 1959, when academics at Glasgow University realised that the traditional shipbuilders and other engineering firms were beginning to close down.

The House of Fraser element within it was added in 1979. It continues to have material added, and is partly funded by the company.

With more than half the company's stores already preparing for closure, it may have a lot more archives soon to absorb.

Meanwhile, Glasgow University archives continues to seek out businesses which will have a story to tell, particularly in sectors that are under-represented, and also the new communities in Scotland, such as Asian-Scots.

BBC Scotland business and economy editor Douglas Fraser visited the archive, in an old flour warehouse by the banks of the River Kelvin. He heard there from senior archivist Moira Rankin.

Additional readings by Kiara King, business archivist.