Latest news with #ReneBenko
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Selfridges to open private members' club in battle to revive fortunes
Selfridges has unveiled plans to open its first-ever private members' club as it races to revive its fortunes. The luxury retailer is planning to turn the fourth floor of its flagship department store on Oxford Street into an invitation-only club called 40 Duke. The club, which will open next spring, will include a bar, a private dining room and a terrace. News of the venture, first reported by Estates Gazette, comes after Selfridges posted losses of £41.9m for the year ending February 2024. Revenues also fell 1pc to £834.9m. It also follows a change in ownership at Selfridges, as Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund last year bought out a stake previously owned by Austrian property tycoon Rene Benko. Thailand's Central Group, a retail conglomerate controlled by the billionaire Chirathivat family, remains its largest shareholder with a 60pc stake. As for the club itself, it is expected to replace office space currently used by Selfridges staff and executive directors, including meeting rooms and boardrooms. The plans will be voted on by Westminster City Council next week. Selfridges is seeking alternative sources of revenue as it battles a sluggish luxury retail market. Global economic uncertainty has dented consumer confidence, with half of shoppers intending to spend less on luxury goods in the year ahead, according to recent findings from Internet Retailing. Property consultants from Montagu Evans, which is advising Selfridges on the proposal, said in a recent report: 'Selfridges must continuously carry out refurbishment and improvement to sustain its prominence within what is a fast-paced and demanding industry. 'The proposal will allow Selfridges to continue to thrive and succeed along a world-renowned shopping destination that is Oxford Street, supporting the international shopping centre and the vibrancy of London's West End.' Despite its prime location, the club will have to contend with a range of similar outlets across London, including the Nexus in South Kensington, Aethos in Shoreditch and Lighthouse Social in Fulham. A Selfridges spokesman said: 'We're always exploring new ways to evolve our offer and elevate our customers' experience with us. As usual, we've big and exciting plans for the rest of this year and beyond, and we look forward to sharing more when we can.' They added that its most recent trading performance was largely affected by higher finance costs caused by recent changes in accounting standards. The spokesman added: 'The loss before tax is largely attributable to the adverse impact of IFRS 16. Profit before tax pre IFRS 16 was £56.7m.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
2 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Selfridges to open private members' club in battle to revive fortunes
Selfridges has unveiled plans to open its first-ever private members' club as it races to revive its fortunes. The luxury retailer is planning to turn the fourth floor of its flagship department store on Oxford Street into an invitation-only club called 40 Duke. The club, which will open next spring, will include a bar, a private dining room and a terrace. Bosses are hopeful that the venture will restore profits at the struggling retailer, which posted losses of £41.9m for the year ending February 2024. Revenues also fell 1pc to £834.9m. It comes after a change in ownership at Selfridges, as Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund last year bought out a stake previously owned by Austrian property tycoon Rene Benko. Thailand's Central Group, a retail conglomerate controlled by the billionaire Chirathivat family, remains its largest shareholder with a 60pc stake. As for the club itself, it is expected to replace office space currently used by Selfridges staff and executive directors, including meeting rooms and boardrooms. The plans will be voted on by Westminster City Council next week. Luxury slump Selfridges is seeking alternative sources of revenue as it battles a sluggish luxury market. Global economic uncertainty has dented consumer confidence, with half of shoppers intending to spend less on luxury goods in the year ahead, according to recent findings from Internet Retailing. Property consultants from Montagu Evans, which is advising Selfridges on the proposal, said in a recent report: 'Selfridges must continuously carry out refurbishment and improvement to sustain its prominence within what is a fast-paced and demanding industry. 'The proposal will allow Selfridges to continue to thrive and succeed along a world-renowned shopping destination that is Oxford Street, supporting the international shopping centre and the vibrancy of London's West End.' Despite its prime location, the club will have to contend with a range of similar outlets across London, including the Nexus in South Kensington, Aethos in Shoreditch and Lighthouse Social in Fulham. A Selfridges spokesman said: 'We're always exploring new ways to evolve our offer and elevate our customers' experience with us. As usual, we've big and exciting plans for the rest of this year and beyond, and we look forward to sharing more when we can.' They added that its most recent trading performance was affected by higher finance costs caused by recent changes in accounting standards.
Bloomberg
02-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
German Banks Pay Millions to Settle Claims by Insolvent Signa
Helaba and other German lenders have paid millions of euros in recent weeks to settle claims by the administrator of former real estate tycoon Rene Benko's Signa Prime Selection AG. Helaba paid €26 million ($30 million) at the end of May as part of an out-of court settlement, Signa Prime's insolvency administrator said in a report to creditors dated Monday. Other payments include €3 million received from Deutsche Pfandbriefbank AG and €2.1 million from Bayerische Landesbank.
Business Times
21-05-2025
- Business
- Business Times
Julius Baer faces US$156 million loan loss charge
[ZURICH] Julius Baer Group said it's booking another large loss from property developments it helped finance, just as the Swiss wealth manager is emerging from a crisis triggered by its exposure to Rene Benko's Signa real estate empire. The Zurich-based bank disclosed late Tuesday (May 20) that it's taking a loan-loss charge of US$156 million related to its private debt business and selected positions in its mortgage operation. As part of a review of its credit portfolio, Baer is discussing writing down a loan related to a real estate project in the German city of Hanover that's on the cusp of default and is also facing a loss from another development, Bloomberg reported earlier on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. The report prompted the company to release an interim management statement ahead of schedule. That report showed assets under management of 467 billion Swiss francs (S$731.7 billion), a 6 per cent decrease from the end of 2024, according to a statement, as the strong Swiss franc had a currency impact of 28 billion francs. The bank posted net new money of 4.2 billion francs for the same period, coming from clients in Asia and Western Europe, it said. The bank also said it was on track to achieve the additional 110 million francs in cost savings it announced in February, and that this was expected to start benefiting profitability later this year. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up 'We expect investors to react negatively to disappointing net new money,' Citigroup analyst Nicholas Herman wrote in a note to clients, adding that the loan loss is also 'disappointing on several levels.' 'This follows a series of mis-steps prior to the arrival of CEO Stefan Bollinger,' he said, citing the Signa loss, the attempt to acquire Swiss rival EFG, flows and interest margins. Chief risk officer Oliver Bartholet will retire, the bank added, in another departure from the executive board since loans to defunct property tycoon Rene Benko helped cut 2023 profit in half. Bartholet will hand over his responsibilities on July 1 to Ivan Ivanic, who joined Julius Baer in February as chief credit officer. The executive board, which was slashed to five from 15 following the arrival of newly appointed chief executive officer Stefan Bollinger, will be expanded to include a chief compliance officer, with an announcement 'in due course.' Bollinger and chairman Noel Quinn, HSBC Holdings' former CEO, are seeking to clean up the balance sheet and set the firm back on a growth path. The two are expected to present a strategy update in June as they look to shore up investor confidence. Baer, Switzerland's second-largest listed wealth manager, wrote off US$700 million in loans and shut down its private-debt business after Benko's conglomerate unravelled in late 2023. The wealth manager said it has made progress on the wind-down of its private-debt loan book, with the remaining notional exposure now well below 0.2 billion Swiss francs, a more than 50 per cent reduction since the end of 2024, it said. The remaining book stands at 0.4 per cent of the total loan book, according to the statement. Last week, it emerged that Julius Baer has been ordered to hand over 4.4 million Swiss francs because of alleged failings in money-laundering controls. The previously undisclosed 'enforcement proceeding' is separate from an existing Finma probe into the Benko fallout. BLOOMBERG
Bloomberg
20-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Julius Baer Faces $156 Million Loan Loss Charge
Julius Baer Group Ltd. is facing another large loss from property developments it helped finance, just as the Swiss wealth manager is emerging from a crisis triggered by its exposure to Rene Benko's Signa real estate empire. As part of a review of its credit portfolio, Baer is discussing writing down a loan related to a real estate project in the German city of Hanover that is on the cusp of default and is also facing a loss from another development, according to people familiar with the matter. Full impairments of those projects are expected to contribute to a loan loss charge of about 130 million Swiss francs ($156 million), said the people, asking not to be identified because the information is private.
