Retail Stores, the company that owns London’s Liberty department store, has announced it is selling Lasenby House and Regent House in a bid to eliminate the store’s £50m bank debt.
Liberty chairman Richard Balfour-Lynn, who is also chief executive of Marylebone Warwick Balfour, which owns 68% of Retail Stores, said DTZ had been appointed to handle the sale of Lasenby House on Kingly Street, W1, and the sale and leaseback of Regent House on Regent Street, W1.
“We hope that during the first half of 2005 these sales will be completed, leaving Liberty debt free,” said Balfour-Lynn.
The announcement of the disposals came as Retail Stores said sales for December at Liberty showed a 14.2% increase on the comparable period a year earlier, while sales in the first full week of the post-Christmas sale were up by more than 5%.
References: EGi News 10/01/05
