Selfridges’ Thai co-owner Central Group is seeking to take greater control of the department store and could snap up fellow shareholder Signa’s stake following its collapse.
Following Signa Prime Selection – the division which co-owns Selfridges – filing for insolvency last week, its stake in the department store is set to come up for sale to recover money for the firm’s creditors.
The Sunday Times reports that Central, which jointly bought Selfridges with Austrian group Signa for £4bn in 2022, is keen to increase its position in the department store, although a spokesperson for the Thai group declined to comment.
Selfridges’ owners separated its retail operations and property holdings into two separate companies — an “opco” and a “propco”.
In November, as Signa battled financial crisis, Central took majority ownership of the opco in a £317m debt-for-equity deal that diluted the Austrian firm’s stake.
One option for Central could take a bigger stake in the propco, according to the newspaper, which would give it majority control over both group entities.
It emerged last week that the Austrian firm’s collapse had led Selfridges’ propco Cambridge Properties to ask Central for cash to pay its upcoming debt commitments.
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Cambridge Properties, which owns the department store’s property portfolio, confirmed in accounts filed last week that its directors are in “ongoing discussions” with Central “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.
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 spokesperson for Selfridges Group has reaffirmed that Signa’s collapse “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,” they said.
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