Selfridges shares rise through Weston interest

Shares in Selfridges are set for further gains this week as more potential bidders for the department stores group emerged over the weekend.

Brown Thomas owner and Canadian billionaire Galen Weston is reported to be considering entering the £500m (€723m) battle for the upmarket retailer, best known for its flagship store on London’s Oxford Street.

After a surprise 5% rise in its share price earlier this month Selfridges was forced to admit it had received a possible bid approach, thought to be from Scottish entrepreneur Tom Hunter.

The shares have since leapt by almost 100p to 325p on Thursday, the last day of trading on the London Stock Exchange before the Easter holiday.

Mr Weston, who owns Ireland's Brown Thomas stores as well as retail chains in Canada, would go head-to-head with Mr Hunter – who has previously tried to buy House of Fraser and Allders.

If Mr Weston went on to win control of Selfridges, he would compete for sales against his nephew Guy Weston, who runs Fortnum & Mason and furniture store Heal’s through the family’s holding company Whittington, which is also a major shareholder in Associated British Foods.

The British family businesses were built up by the late Garry Weston, Guy Weston’s father and estranged brother of Galen.

Selfridges chief executive Peter Williams is also said to be considering a management buy-out bid.

Other reports have suggested that US investment bank Goldman Sachs and property group Minerva have been considering an offer for Selfridges.

And entrepreneur Philip Green, the owner of Bhs and Arcadia, could also be mulling an approach, according to some reports.

Besides its London headquarters, Selfridges has two stores in Manchester and is opening a fourth in Birmingham. It also has plans for others in cities including Glasgow, Bristol and Newcastle as it seeks to have eight UK stores.

Selfridges has experienced a renaissance in its fortunes under former chief executive Vittorio Radice since its demerger from the Sears retail empire.

Mr Radice, now executive director of Marks & Spencer’s Home business, repositioned the store as a “house of brands”, stocking clothes by designer names such as Burberry, DKNY and Paul Smith alongside its more traditional menswear and womenswear and electrical products.