IKEA buys $213 million Manhattan building for new store in US push

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -Ingka Group, the biggest global IKEA retailer, has acquired a Manhattan property where it plans to open a new store as part of the furniture group's expansion in the United States, it said on Wednesday.

The 53,000 square feet property in New York City's SoHo district will house a two-story IKEA store, while four floors will be renovated for office use which will then be rented out, Ingka Group's investment arm said.

The purchase price for the building was $213 million, Ingka Investments told Reuters.

The purchase is part of the retailer's $2.2 billion expansion plans for the United States, announced in 2023, Ingka said.

Last year Ingka invested in a property project on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue where it also plans to open a store.

While IKEA for decades established its stores in out-of-town locations, it has in recent years added developments in major city centres such as Paris and London.

(Reporting by Greta Rosen Fondahn, editing by Terje Solsvik)