Welcome to Saudfridges: Saudi wealth fund buys 40% of iconic department store Selfridges
Saudi Arabias sovereign wealth fund has agreed to buy a significant stake in iconic department store firm Selfridges.
Saudi Arabias sovereign wealth fund has agreed to buy a significant stake in iconic department store firm Selfridges.
The Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), which owns Newcastle United Football Club, will partner with current co-owner Central Group, a leading Thai property company, to take control of the retailer.
PIF has agreed to buy 40 per cent of shares in the department store.
It stepped in after Austrian real estate conglomerate Signa, which had co-owned Selfridges with Central since 2021, collapsed into insolvency.
The beleagured business owned a wide portfolio of stores including Arnotts and Brown Thomas in Ireland.
Saudi Arabias sovereign wealth fund has agreed to buy a significant stake in iconic department store firm Selfridges (file pic)
The Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), controlled by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, now has 40 per cent shares in Selfridges (file pic)
The PIF also owns Premier League football club, Newcastle United. Pictured: Mateo Kovacic of Manchester City battles for possession with Bruno Guimaraes of Newcastle United (file pic)
Saudi Arabias PIF, which stepped in after co-owner Signa collapsed, also has stakes in Heathrow Airport (file pic)
Queues line the street during last Decembers Boxing Day sales at iconic store Selfridges
PIF and Central said the deal will include new investment from both parties to strengthen the retail firms position and future growth.
In addition to owning a Premier League football club, Saudi Arabias PIF has stakes in Heathrow Airport and London-based hotel group Rocco Forte.
Turqi Al-Nowaiser, deputy governor and head of international investments division at PIF, said: We are pleased to be partnering with Central Group in Selfridges Group, one of Europes most iconic luxury department stores.
This transaction allows Selfridges Group to build on its position as a premier retail destination.
Tos Chirathivat, executive chairman and chief executive officer of Central Group, said: We are glad to welcome our new partner PIF, and together we will immensely strengthen the Selfridges Groups financial position.
The group is ready to embark on a new chapter of development and growth supported by the shared long-term vision of its shareholders.
PIF is Centrals partner of choice in this distinguished company, and we are confident that PIFs proven global track record of investments combined with our luxury retail industry expertise, brand management skills and innovative approach, will allow Selfridges Group to continue to flourish for the benefit of all its stakeholders.
Selfridges was founded in 1908 by Harry Gordon Selfridge, who plunged £400,000 of his own money into opening a store in the then-unfashionable west end of Oxford Street
Harry Selfridge also established a school for the young boys and girls who worked for him (pictured in 1920)
A sewing class, pictured in 1920, at Selfridges school, which was founded by the owner
Jeremy Piven starred as Selfridge in an ITV drama about the iconic department store
Selfridges, founded in 1908 by Harry Gordon Selfridge, owns more than 600,000 square feet of selling space at its flagship Oxford Street store in London.
How Mr Selfridge was financially ruined by his pursuit of the 1920s Cheeky Girls
ITVs Mr Selfridge told the story of how Harry Selfridge was financially ruined by his pursuit of twin dancers Jenny and Rose Dolly, who were dubbed the Cheeky Girls of their era.
Selfridge was a 67-year-old widower when he met Jenny and Rose, who were known professionally as the Dolly Sisters.
The women loved to gamble and Harry is believed to have spent $4million to support their habit. Today, that figure is worth around $60million – or £43.5million.
ITVs Mr Selfridge told the story of how Harry Selfridge was financially ruined by his pursuit of twin dancers Jenny and Rose Dolly, who were dubbed the Cheeky Girls of their era
The tycoon also bought the women the best furs, jewels and evening gowns.
Harry is known to have slept with Jenny and also offered her $10million to marry him.
However, Jenny was involved in a car accident in 1933 and needed to sell her jewellery to pay for plastic surgery operations.
Harry stepped into help but never tied the knot with the glamorous woman.
She hanged herself in 1941 after suffering from depression. Rose died in 1970, aged 77.
The founder invested £400,000 of his own money in opening a store in the then-unfashionable west end of Oxford Street after visiting London from his native Wisconsin, in the USA.
Selfridges & Co went on to become a household name, with Selfridge chairing the company until he was ousted in 1941 after becoming obsessed with twin sisters who were dubbed the Cheeky Girls of their day.
When it opened, Selfridges was a shopping marvel unrivalled by other retailers.
The store boasted nine Otis lifts which took customers around more than 100 departments selling everything from swimsuits to fur coats.
The central aim was to give people comfort as they shopped.
Customers were treated to piped music and the scent of perfume in the air, whilst restaurants allowed shoppers to relax with a plate of food.
The store also boasted a hairdressers and manicure service.
Harry Selfridge liked to claim that his store helped to emancipate women. I came along when they wanted to step out on their own, he said.
They came to the store and realised some of their dreams.
When it first emerged in 1925, television was demonstrated to the public at Selfridges.
As well as the department store chain, Harry Selfridge also established a school for the young boys and girls who worked for him.
The Selfridges continuation school opened in 1925 and catered for male and female pupils from 14 to 18, teaching a wide range of classes from reading and writing to cookery, cleaning and sewing.
The school was founded at a time when the school leaving age for children in Britain was 14, raised from just 12 by the Education Act of 1918.
Although youngsters were allowed to leave school at 14, they were obliged to attend continuation schools part-time until they were 18.
Images from Selfridges classes from 1920 show girls studying books, learning how to do laundry and taking part in physical culture classes.
In 1940, the John Lewis Partnership bought what were then the 16 stores – besides the Oxford Street flagship - which made up Selfridges.
In 1951, the Liverpool-based Lewiss – separate from the JLP - bought the Oxford Street shop.
Then, in 1965, the business was sold to the Sears Group, which was owned by British magnate Sir Charles Clore.
Under the Sears Groups ownership, further stores were opened and Selfridges was split from Lewiss, which was placed into administration.
High street history: A moment in 2012 when shoppers took £1.5 million in the first hour of trading during the Boxing Day sale
In 1964 shoppers in the China department of Selfridges store in Oxford Street, London, were in a retail frenzy on the first day of the stores June sale
Must get those bargains! Shoppers rushing through the doors of Selfridges on Oxford Street, London, back in 2009
A chocolate world cup trophy on sale at Selfridges, London, in 2010 formed a centrepiece during the football tournament
Further expansion in 1998 saw Selfridges open in Manchesters Trafford Centre and Exchange Square. Another store opened in Birminghams Bullring in 2003.
W Galen Weston bought the flagship Oxford Street Selfridge store that year and formed the Selfridges Group in 2010.
