Selfridges is up for auction as its owners, the billionaire Weston family, are looking to offload it by the end of the year to £4bn.
Advisers at Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS.) are about to send relevant documents to prospective buyers, The Times reported, as two or three bidders have already expressed interest.
It is understood these might be sovereign wealth funds, such as Adia, of Abu Dhabi, the Public Investment Fund, of Saudi Arabia, and the Qatar Investment Authority. The latter already owns rival Harrods, which was bought in 2010 for £1.5bn.
Middle Eastern customers are key for Selfridges and a takeover from owners in this region may lead to further expansion in the area. Hong Kong’s Lane Crawford is also considered a potential bidder.
The department stores chain, which owns 25 sites worldwide valued at around £2bn, was founded in 1908 and went private in 2003 when the Westons bought it for £598mln.
The deal was executed by W Galen Weston, who died in April, and who reportedly would have been opposed to the sale.
He was chairman of Selfridges Group until two years ago, when his daughter Alannah Weston took the post.
The retailer made £1.97bn in sales in the year to February 2020 with operating profits of £88mln. It reported a record-breaking Christmas last year, with sales up 8%.