Selfridges finds itself in trouble as owner collapses

Selfridges is seeking urgent financial help from its Thai owner Central Group, now that former co-owner Signa is collapsing.

Great uncertainty

Cambridge Properties, the company holding Selfridges, is asking its parent company Central Group to meet future debt repayments, Bloomberg reports. The department store group is particularly concerned that Signa will soon demand debt repayments, but there are not enough funds for that.

As some other parts of Signa have already filed for insolvency, there is great uncertainty about the financial support the group will need, Selfridges explained its move. In November, Central Group already gave a shareholder loan of nearly 30 million euros for interest payments, which can be converted into shares in May, but the British department store icon is now asking for even more.

However, a spokesperson stressed that the situation does not change anything for Selfridges. “Selfridges trades independently from its shareholders,” Bloomberg quotes them: “We are delighted to have the ongoing and unwavering support of Central Group” – ominously not mentioning the Austrian co-founder in the process. Central Group and Signa bought Selfridges together in 2022. However, Signa’s financial problems gave the Thai billionaires a majority stake in November.