Selfridges has asked parent company Central Group for cash to pay its upcoming debt commitments as co-owner Signa filed for insolvency yesterday.
Signa, the retail and property empire created by Austrian billionaire René Benko filed for insolvency for two of its key divisions, including Signa Prime Selection, which co-owns properties such as the Selfridges department store in London and Berlin store KaDeWe.
The collapse of Signa, which jointly bought Selfridges with Thai conglomerate Central Group for £4bn last year, has placed the department store under financial pressure.
Selfridges holding company Cambridge Properties, which owns the department store’s property portfolio, confirmed in accounts filed this week that it is in talks with the Thai firm to secure funds to meet its upcoming debt payments.
Loans to Manchester Exchange Square Invest Limited, due for repayment in February, and another to London Oxford Street Invest Limited that was due to be repaid in August 2024 but can be extended by a year if it has the “continued support from the group’s ultimate controlling parties”.
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The accounts confirmed that Cambridge Properties directors are in “ongoing discussions” with Central Group “regarding the source, structure and form of future financing to be provided to the group”.
“Discussions are not yet finalised, and significant uncertainty therefore exists in relation to the financial support that the group will require,” it said.
Central Group took control of Selfridges last month, becoming its largest shareholder in a £317m debt-for-equity deal that dilutes the stake of Signa.
The Thai group also stepped in to help the propco cover interest payments that were due in November, providing a shareholder loan note of £27.3m. The loan can be converted to equity when it comes due in May 2024.
A Selfridges Group spokesperson told Bloomberg: “This does not change anything for Selfridges. Selfridges trades independently from its shareholders. We are delighted to have the ongoing and unwavering support of Central Group.”
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