A&O advising the Weston family on its sale of Selfridges Group

The Selfridges Group portfolio comprises 18 leading department stores, including Selfridges in London, Manchester and Birmingham, de Bijenkorf in the Netherlands, Brown Thomas and Arnotts in Ireland, their associated e-commerce platforms and the properties in London, Manchester and five locations in Ireland.

Central is a family-owned retail, real estate and hospitality group, while Signa is one of Europe’s leading real estate and retail groups. The transaction will see Selfridges Group become part of the combined Central and Signa portfolio of luxury department stores.

The Weston family’s legal team was led by General Counsel Robert Balcom and Senior Director Corum Van Esch. The A&O team was led by Corporate M&A partners Richard Evans and Matthew Appleton, supported by senior associate Fatima Shawaf and associate Zara Sproul. Specialist advice was also provided by real estate partners Emma Willoughby and Hayden Cameron, antitrust partner Alasdair Balfour and tax counsel Tim Harrop.

Commenting on the deal, A&O Corporate M&A partner Richard Evans said: “It is an honour to have been able to assist our client the Weston family in this sale of a real landmark retail business. This deal caps another year in which A&O has advised our clients on some of the biggest and most complex M&A deals in the market.”