Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund invests in traditional department store Selfridges

The Saudi sovereign wealth fund, Public Investment Fund (PIF), becomes a minority shareholder in the traditional department store chain Selfridges after acquiring the shares of the now insolvent Signa Group. This transaction positions the PIF with a 40% stake in both the operations and the real estate of Selfridges. The Thai conglomerate Central Group assumes a majority stake with 60% and thus secures future investments to strengthen Selfridges' financial status. The partnership marks a significant step following the collapse of the previous joint venture partner Signa. The insolvency of the Austrian real estate and retail company founded by Rene Benko occurred due to a sudden rise in interest rates, which placed the highly indebted group in financial difficulty. Turqi Al-Nowaiser, Deputy Governor and Head of the International Investments Division of the PIF, expressed his satisfaction with the collaboration with Central Group. He emphasized that the transaction allows Selfridges to further develop its position as a leading retail destination. The sovereign wealth fund already held a 10% stake previously, after a Signa subsidiary transferred part of its share to PIF. In addition to Selfridges, which operates 18 department stores in three countries, including the UK, the Netherlands, and Ireland, the collapse of Signa leads to further restructurings. Central now assumes the operating companies of the Swiss luxury department store chain Globus and the Berlin high-end department store KaDeWe.