The value of Selfridges’ property portfolio was cut by over half a billion pounds last year, according to accounts from the luxury retailer’s property holding company.
The accounts show valuers have cut the valuation of its £3.1bn property assets – which include its Oxford Street flagship in London – by £638.6m, a 20.6% drop.
Over £1.7bn in loans, maturing in August 2025, are secured against Selfridges’ freehold property, The Sunday Times reported.
Last week, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) snapped up a 40% stake in Selfridges Group, which includes the British department store chain, along with the De Bijenkorf department stores in the Netherlands and Brown Thomas and Arnotts in Ireland.
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Back in 2021, the Weston family sold Selfridges Group to real estate group Signa Holding and Thai conglomerate Central Group in a £4bn deal.
The transaction saw Selfridges Group become part of the combined Central and Signa portfolio of luxury department stores.
The latest deal with PIF follows the collapse of Signa last year, when rising interest rates revealed its financial instability. This led to a new auction for its stake in Selfridges.
The department store declined to provide any financial terms of last week’s deal with PIF.
Signa’s collapse forced Central to lend Selfridges £98.1m this year to meet financial obligations previously agreed by the co-owners. As part of last week’s deal, both Central and PIF have invested undisclosed amounts into Selfridges.
Selfridges is split into two corporate entities: one holding its property assets and the other accounting for its operating business. Accounts for the operating company have yet to be filed.
The property portfolio that has been devalued includes the Oxford Street flagship, an adjacent building and the Selfridges store in Manchester’s Exchange Square.
A spokesman for the retailer told The Sunday Times the writedowns were largely driven by “external market factors” such as interest rates and prevailing market rents.
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