Parent company Neiman Marcus is selling its Beverly Hills location

The land beneath luxury retailer Neiman Marcus’ flagship store in Beverly Hills has been sold to a New York investor as the department store chain’s owners sell real estate to pay debts.

Neiman Marcus, which has occupied the store at 9700 Wilshire Boulevard since it opened in 1979, will continue to serve customers there as a tenant.

“We have made the strategic decision to sell the land beneath the Neiman Marcus Beverly Hills store and enter into a long-term lease with the new owner,” a Saks Global spokesperson said. “This opportunistic real estate transaction has no impact on our day-to-day operations. We remain committed to serving our loyal customers in Beverly Hills.”

Saks Global, the parent company of Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Saks Off 5th and Bergdorf Goodman, sold the Neiman Marcus site in Beverly Hills for an undisclosed price.

The new owner of the property on the edge of the city’s prestigious Golden Triangle is Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp., a private real estate investment company owned by Ben Ashkenazy.

Ashkenazy also owns the former Barneys building on Wilshire Boulevard, now occupied by Saks Fifth Avenue.

“This strategic acquisition significantly expands Ashkenazy’s presence in Beverly Hills and reinforces the company’s focus on irreplaceable, best-in-class retail properties located in globally recognized luxury corridors,” the company said in a statement.

Executives at Saks Global have signaled plans to shore up cash flow by offloading stores or raising emergency financing.

The company could also divest a stake in luxury retail chain Bergdorf Goodman to pay down debt and reinvest in its core business, according to real estate data provider CoStar.

The company faces a $100 million payment default at the end of December and is considering bankruptcy as a last resort. said Bloomberg. The battle comes a year after Saks Global bought Neiman Marcus in a $2.7 billion deal.

Beverly Hills’ retail real estate market remains one of the most robust in the country, says Newmark real estate agent Jay Luchs. He was not involved in Neiman Marcus real estate sales, but has been brokering luxury retail sales and leasing in Southern California for more than 20 years.

“This is probably the best it’s ever been in Beverly Hills,” he said, with “essentially nothing available” on Rodeo Drive for merchants looking for retail space and demand to climb on nearby streets like Wilshire Boulevard.

Some top brands are making their stores bigger, and luxury brands including LVMH, Chanel, Hermes and Richemont are buying their stores instead of renting them, he said.

“They only do that when they make a ton of money, unless they want to stay there forever,” Luchs said, “and they realize that Los Angeles and Beverly Hills are a very important market for them.”