Selfridges owners buy Oxford Street block

The retail dynasty behind Selfridges has purchased a prime

retail block next door to its flagship London store in an £80m deal.

The Weston-family firm has bought a 40,000 sq ft block on Oxford Street currently occupied by French Connection. The fashion chain has a lease that runs until 2025, but Selfridges could take ownership sooner.

French Connection recently agreed to pay more than £3.2m a year for the store after a rent review arbitration found against the chain, so might be amenable to getting the expensive site off its books. With Selfridges, the Westons own the UK's second-largest department store – after Harrods – and had to beat competition from other bidders to buy the French Connection site.