Sahara India Pariwar, the Indian conglomerate run by billionaire industrialist Subrata Roy, has been tipped as a leading bidder to buy the Grosvenor House Hotel on Park Lane from Royal Bank of Scotland for about £500m ($799m).
The Indian group is seen by those close to the negotiations as one of the favourites to acquire the well-known London hotel, which is the venue for many of the capital’s larger black tie events, although a final decision has not been made from a shortlist of bidders.
Other parties linked to the deal include sovereign and state wealth funds from Singapore, Qatar and China. The Candy brothers, the upmarket developers, are no longer involved in the process.
RBS took ownership of the hotel in 2003 when Le Meridien collapsed into administrative receivership. It owns a long lease on the 494-bedroom hotel, which is operated by Marriott International.
Sahara was not available for comment; RBS declined to comment. CBRE Hotels is advising on the bids.
Financial Times, p14