Abu Dhabi fund offers €2.2b for London luxury hotels - report

Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund has reportedly launched a £1.6 bn (€2.2 bn) bid for a trio of London luxury hotels owned by Irish property tycoons Derek Quinlan and Paddy McKillen through the Maybourne Hotel Group.

According to a news report in the FT, the bid for London's Claridge’s, The Connaught and The Berkeley values the hotels at £3 mln per room, representing one of the highest sums ever paid for a hotel.

The hotels are believed to have received two other offers from asset-rich investors in other Middle Eastern countries.

Quinlan is backed by the Barclay brothers, who effectively hold two-thirds of the shares, while McKillen, who has a third of the shares, is backed by US private equity group Colony Capital. He is also believed to be planning an offer to buy out the properties.

The hotels have been at the centre of a four-year ownership battle that started when the Barclay brothers seized control of almost two-thirds of the voting rights in the hotels' holding company in 2011.

However, the Barclays cannot take control of the assets without McKillen first getting a chance to buy the shares. McKillen has fought the Barclays brothers’ takeover attempt through the courts and has recently received backing from Colony Capital to regain control of the holding company.