Banks face £7bn bill as Selfridges shareholder Signa collapses

Rene Benko's retail and real estate empire collapsed due to a lack of cash after a Vienna court declared the business insolvent. Photo: GEORG HOCHMUT/AFP

She also owns stakes in New York's Chrysler Building and Berlin's Selfridges equivalent, luxury department store KaDeWe. The company recently said it has assets worth €27 billion and a pipeline of future projects worth a further €25 billion.

As part of the joint takeover, Selfridges Signa and Central also acquired three of Ireland's best-known businesses. Stores: Brown Thomas in Dublin and Cork; and Arnotts in Dublin. A spokesman for the two companies assured buyers it was «business as usual.»

Signa is made up of more than 1,000 entities and trusts, many of them offshore, and the company is believed to owe money to as many as 120 different banks.

Rising questions about the true value of much of its assets amid soaring interest rates and falling property prices, as well as its debt load, are among the reasons Signa's future is in jeopardy. into uncertainty.

“Despite significant efforts made in recent weeks, the necessary liquidity for the out-of-court restructuring process could not be sufficiently secured and Signa Holding has therefore filed for reorganization proceedings,” Signa said last week.