Grosvenor House Hotel up for sale as owner collapses into administration
The iconic Grosvenor House Hotel in London has been put up for sale after its owner collapsed into administration.
The luxury five-star hotel, located on Park Lane in Mayfair, is expected to go for more than the £470m than its owners Sahara Grosvenor House Hospitality initially paid five years ago – the largest London hotel deal on record.
Deloitte has been appointed administrator of Sahara Grosvenor House Hospitality, which owns the lease of the hotel. Meanwhile, the property is on the market with Jones Lang LaSalle, which has been appointed to find a buyer.
However, the venue is actually run by Marriott, meaning the day-to-day running of the hotel will be unaffected.
Indian billionaire Subrata Roy, who has been in jail in India since last March on contempt of court charges, owns Sahara India Pariwar, which ultimately controls the Grosvenor.
"We are in the process of agreeing a sale strategy with JLL as sales agent and expect there to be considerable interest in acquiring this building," Phil Bowers, joint administrator and restructuring services partner at Deloitte, said.
Mark Wynne-Smith, global chief executive at JLL hotels and hospitality group, said: “The last hotel transaction on Park Lane took place two years ago and the market has strengthened since then.
Sahara India Pariwar purchased the hotel five years ago from Royal Bank of Scotland for a record £470m. However, despite the hotel's dizzying price tag, it was actually below expectations of around £600m to £700m.
The Grosvenor House Hotel, which first opened its doors in 1929, now boasts 420 rooms, 74 suites, 27 meeting rooms as well as the largest five-star ballroom in Europe.