Karstadtquelle has appointed bankers to sell off its €5.5bn (£3.7bn) portfolio in one of Europe’s biggest retail property disposals. Sunday Times


The German retail and leisure group that owns a majority stake in Thomas Cook has hired NM Rothschild and Goldman Sachs to sell off its real estate assets, ahead of a possible London listing next year.

The portfolio includes a string of flagship department stores across Germany, including the giant KaDeWe shop in Berlin.

The property portfolio was placed into a joint venture with Whitehall, a division of Goldman Sachs, in March 2006, which netted Karstadtquelle €3.7bn.