Selfridges in talks with Qatar about £4bn sale
Selfridges’ billionaire owners are in talks with Qatar about a potential £4billion sale that would see the world-famous department store change hands for the first time in nearly two decades.
The deal would see Qatar take ownership of a second London department store, after buying Harrods in 2010 through its sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA).
Discussions with the Qataris had included the possibility of buying only the Selfridges department stores, potentially excluding the group’s Irish shops Brown Thomas and Arnotts, Holt Renfrew in Canada and de Bijenkorf in the Netherlands – all owned by the billionaire Weston family.
The Weston family in July launched an auction for Selfridges after a difficult year during which it was forced to close for several months.
The group operates four Selfridges stores in the UK – in London, Birmingham and Manchester where it has two.
Canadian billionaire Galen Weston bought Selfridges for £598 million in 2003. His daughter Alannah Weston is now in charge of the business.
