 In 1963 the store was bought (by this time it was owned by a company in Bournemouth) by Welsh banker Sir Julian Hodge for £3 million, with Hodge promising the ownership would never again leave Wales.The shop was extensively refurbished.In April 1972 Hodge and the Howells directors sold the shop to the House of Fraser chain, in a deal worth £5 million, meaning the store ceased to be an independent department store (or with Welsh ownership).