// The new owners of Selfridges have confirmed plans to reopen the retailer’s old hotel
// Signa’s Executive Chairman Dieter said that developing the hotel and apartments would mean “significant value upside potential”
The new owners of Selfridges are planning to open a luxury hotel as part of a major revamp of its flagship store.
The 113-year-old business, whose UK stores are in London, Manchester and Birmingham, was sold by the Weston family for £4billion on Christmas Eve.
The buyers, Thai retailer Central Group and Austrian property firm Signa Group now want to overhaul the Oxford Street store in London.
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The businesses said they would prioritise upgrading the food hall at Selfridges and develop a luxury hotel in part of the building that has been empty since 2008, when the old Selfridges Hotel was closed.
Signa’s Executive Chairman Dieter Berninghaus told the Financial Times that developing the hotel and apartments would mean “significant value upside potential”.
“The purchase price merely reflects the valuation of the main Selfridges building and its retail utilisation,” he added.
The financial details of the transaction were not publicly disclosed but reports suggest that the Westons had placed a £4bn price tag on the group when it was put up for sale earlier this year. Around £2bn on that value was for property, including the iconic London store.
Chairman of Selfridges Group Alannah Weston previously commented: “I am proud to pass the baton to the new owners who are family businesses that take a long-term view. I know they will fully embrace that vision and continue to empower our incredible team to take the Group from strength to strength.”
As well as the Oxford Street store, Selfridges has stores in Manchester and Birmingham as well as the de Bijenkorf chain in the Netherlands, Brown Thomas and Arnotts in Ireland and online operations.
Selfridges was founded by American Harry Gordon Selfridge in 1908 and has 25 shops worldwide including in Dublin, the Netherlands and Canada.
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