RBS sells London’s Grosvenor House hotel for £470m

Royal Bank of Scotland has sold Mayfair’s Grosvenor House hotel to an Indian billionaire for £470m.   Sahara India Pariwar, the Indian media conglomerate run by industrialist Subrata Roy, won the bid for the Park Lane hotel following months of negotiations.   Sahara was initially named as the frontrunner in bidding negotiations in November.   RBS took control of Grosvenor House in 2003 when the hotel operator, Le Meridien, went into administration.   “We are extremely happy to announce Grosvenor House joining the Sahara family,” Sahara Group chairman Subrata Roy said in a statement.   “The valuation of the hotel, three years back was more than £1bn.   “The valuation, even today is quite high but due to highly satisfactory due diligence by the Royal Bank of Scotland who owned the property and after long and strict negotiations, we have purchased it for £470m.   “This acquisition is a part of the major expansion plans of the group. In addition to the acquisition of Grosvenor House, London will be the gateway for Sahara to introduce some of its new business ventures, internationally.”   RBS was reportedly seeking up to £500m for the site which has undergone a multi-million pound refurbishment and is now managed by Marriott International.   Sahara India Pariwar paid cash for the hotel and beat several other bidders thought to include sovereign wealth funds from Singapore, China and Qatar.   The Candy brothers were initially interested in buying the property, but they were not involved in the final stages.   CB Richard Ellis Hotels advises RBS   nathan.cross@estatesgazette.com To access all EGi news stories and commercial property data sign up for a free trial today, or visit the subscription options page to find out more.