Family-owned department store Fenwick has exchanged on the sale of its 63 New Bond Street premises to investment firm Lazari Investments for £430 million, with both the price tag and the major redevelopment coming forward making it a worthy winner of the Impact Award for a London investment.
The group confirmed it had made the “difficult” decision to sell the 181-year-old property to unlock major investment at its stores across the country, including flagships in Newcastle and Kingston-upon-Thames.
Simon Calver, chair of Fenwick, said in a statement: “This deal will enable the business to continue to serve communities in stores and online for many years to come
“The sale has been a difficult decision for the Fenwick family, who are committed to providing the business with the means to thrive for the long term. Their support will enable the next stage of the journey for the Fenwick family business.”
About the Project: It first emerged in February that Fenwick was marketing the prominent store on London's most exclusive shopping street to potential buyers including Sir Stuart Lipton in partnership with an unidentified investor, and the luxury group LVMH, which bought and refurbished the Paris department store La Samaritaine.
The family was on the brink of selling the entire business to Thai conglomerate Central Group a couple of years ago before the pandemic took hold. In December, Central agreed a £4 billion deal to buy rival UK department store Selfridges.
What the Judges Said: "Large investment deals happen all the time. However buying a block on one of London's most exclusive streets doesn't. What a deal and the impact will be far reaching for the capital city. Again a worthy winner! ", said Shaun Simons, Compton, while James Finnis of JLL called it an "exciting mixed use redevelopment, repurposing and repositioning a genuinely unique building in a super prime location".
They Made It Happen: Scott Lister, director, Michael Elliott.
