According to financial statements from the luxury retailer’s property holding company, Selfridges’ real estate portfolio saw a decline of more than half a billion pounds last year.
The financial records indicate that assessors reduced the valuation of Selfridges’ £3.1 billion property assets—which include its flagship store on Oxford Street in London—by £638.6 million, marking a 20.6% decrease.
Selfridges has over £1.7 billion in loans, which are set to mature in August 2025, secured against its freehold property, as reported by The Sunday Times.
Recently, the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia acquired a 40% share in Selfridges Group, which encompasses the British department store chain, along with the De Bijenkorf stores in the Netherlands and Brown Thomas and Arnotts in Ireland.
In 2021, the Weston family divested Selfridges Group to the real estate entity Signa Holding and Thai conglomerate Central Group for £4 billion.
This acquisition integrated Selfridges Group into the combined portfolio of luxury department stores owned by Central and Signa.
The recent arrangement with PIF comes after Signa’s failure last year, which exposed significant financial vulnerabilities due to escalating interest rates. This situation prompted a fresh auction for its stake in Selfridges.
Selfridges did not disclose any financial details regarding the recent transaction with PIF.
In response to Signa’s collapse, Central provided Selfridges with a loan of £98.1 million this year to honor financial commitments previously established by the co-owners. Under the terms of last week’s agreement, both Central and PIF have contributed undisclosed sums to Selfridges.
Selfridges operates through two distinct corporate entities: one managing its property assets and the other handling its operational business. Financial records for the operating arm are still pending submission.
The devalued property portfolio includes the flagship Oxford Street location, an adjacent building, and the Selfridges outlet in Manchester’s Exchange Square.
A representative for the retailer informed The Sunday Times that the writedowns were largely attributed to “external market factors” including interest rates and current market rents.
Image Source: Selfridges.com
