Subrata Roy’s Sahara Group bids Rs5,808 cr for UK Marriot Hotels: report

Sahara Group has made a Rs5,808-crore (£700 million) takeover bid for Marriot Hotels in London that has been put on the block by the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), according to a Sunday Times report.

The offer comes two years after the Lucknow-based company paid Rs3,275 crore (£470 million) for acquiring the historic Grosvenor House Hotel in London from RBS that was once home to the Duke of Westminster and frequented by royalty, celebrities and business leaders since its re-opening in 1929. (See: Sahara India Pariwar buys London's Grosvenor House Hotel for Rs3,275 crore)

The world's richest sovereign wealth fund, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, which has recently made several investments in the UK, and Indian investor, Blue Post Group are also in the running for the hotels.

In July last year Dublin-based RBS, which is 83-per cent owned by the UK government, had taken control of the £951-million property portfolio of 42 Marriott hotels across the UK , after failing to secure a debt-for-equity restructuring from its consortium owners that included Israeli businessman and entrepreneur Igal Ahouvi, Quinlan Private Capital and Delek Real Estate.

Property agent Jones Lang La Salle and corporate finance firm Hawkpoint have been appointed by RBS to handle the sale, the report said.

The Marriott portfolio includes 42 four and five-star hotels in England, Scotland and Wales, with about 8,000 rooms.