Thai investor takes control of Brown Thomas and Arnotts

A Thai investor has taken majority control of the parent company of Brown Thomas and Arnotts after its partner in the group, Austrian property investor René Benko, was ousted from control of his company last week.

Central Group, owned by the Chirathivat family, said on Tuesday evening that it had converted a loan provided by one of its subsidiaries to the Selfridges group, which counts the Irish department stores as well as London’s Selfridges itself among its assets, into equity. The move comes after its partner, Mr Benko’s Signa, was forced into restructuring his business last week.

“The move solidifies Central Group as an owner-operator of the largest European luxury department store group offering customers the best curation of brands, merchandise, and extraordinary experiences,” Central Group said in a statement.

[ A snapshot of trading by Brown Thomas and Arnotts since their takeover last year ]

“Brown Thomas Arnotts welcomes the news today that Central Group is to become the majority shareholder in the Selfridges Group clearly demonstrating their unwavering support for the business,” the Irish unit said in an emailed statement.

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The Austrian businessman was also forced to resign from the board of his company by his minority partners and give up his voting rights to German insolvency expert Arndt Geiwitz.

Speculation had been rife about the future of Selfridges – which includes Brown Thomas, Arnotts and the De Bijenkorf department store chain in the Netherlands – and whether it would be sold to satisfy Signa’s creditors.

On Tuesday, Central Group said, subject to regulatory approval in the UK, it would now become the majority shareholder of the joint venture company behind the operating entities in the department store group.

Brown Thomas Arnotts, which operates shops in Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway, was sold as part of the sale of the Selfridges group to Thai-headquartered Central Group and Austrian Signa Holding last December in a deal worth a reported €4.7 billion.

[ Owner of Brown Thomas, Arnotts records £124m loss ]

The change in ownership is not expected to impact trading at the shops.

The vehicle that acquired Selfridges, Brown Thomas and Arnotts recorded a £124 million (€142 million) loss since it was set up, according to accounts filed last month.

Cambridge Retail Group Holding, which was incorporated on December 21st, 2021, as a vehicle for the acquisition of Selfridges Group reported, a £124 million pretax loss and revenues of £804 million during the period to January 28th, 2023.

At the time, Cambridge Retail was owned by Signa and Tiang Chirathivat’s Central Group, which together bought the department store portfolio from the billionaire Weston family for £4 billion. This acquisition was completed in August 2022.