Saudi’s PIF to acquire 40% stake in Selfridges 

Saudi’s Public Investment Fund will acquire a 40% stake in luxury department stores chain Selfridges, to undergird its international footprint. 

The sovereign wealth fund will form a strategic partnership with Central Group, Thailand’s retail and hospitality conglomerate and a majority shareholder of the Selfridges Group. 

Central Group and Austrian real estate company Signa Group acquired Selfridges in 2021 in a deal worth $5 billion. Central Group gained control of the British luxury retailer towards the end of last year, as Signa Holdings faced a real estate crisis.  

PIF will acquire Signa’s interest in Selfridges, owning 40% of the group’s operating and property companies, with Central Group owning the remaining 60%, it said in a statement on Monday. 

The deal, subject to regulatory approvals, will include new investment by both PIF and Central to strengthen Selfridges Group’s position and support future development. 

Turqi Al-Nowaiser, deputy governor and head of international investments division at PIF, said that the transaction allows Selfridges Group to build on its position as a premier retail destination. 

PIF has offered to increase its stake in Selfridges to 50%, up from an initial 10% ownership for a cash prize of $1.3 million, according to a Bloomberg report in July 2024. 

Selfridges Group owns and operates 18 luxury department stores across three countries, including Selfridges in the UK, De Bijenkorf in the Netherlands, and Brown Thomas and Arnotts in Ireland. 

Selfridges, founded in 1908 by Harry Gordon Selfridge, is best known for its flagship store in Oxford Street, London.