Central Group has taken control of Selfridges Group, the company behind London’s upmarket department store Selfridges and other well-known European retailers, according to reports.
The Thailand-based investor will become the majority owner of Selfridges Group after it converted a loan into equity when co-owner of the luxury retailer, Austrian property company Signa Group, ran out of cash.
Signa and Central Group acquired Selfridges for a price tag of £4 billion two years ago.
Signa, which was founded by René Benko, who remains the company’s chair, has initiated restructuring to raise money after failing to pay contractors amid rising borrowing costs.
The property business has faced challenges in raising fresh capital, servicing its debt obligations, and coping with the downturn in the luxury market, which have cast doubts over the future of its retail businesses.
The partnership between Central Group and Signa began in 2015 and expanded to include several luxury department stores across Europe.
Their luxury holdings include KaDeWe in Berlin, Oberpollinger in Munich, Alsterhaus in Hamburg, Globus in Switzerland, and Lamarr in Vienna.