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Richard Caring is in advanced talks to sell a significant portion of his UK hospitality empire — which includes the Ivy restaurants chain and London private members’ club Annabel’s — to a United Arab Emirates entity controlled by the powerful Abu Dhabi royal Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed al-Nahyan.
The talks between Caring, dubbed “King of Mayfair”, and Sheikh Tahnoon’s sprawling holding company IHC — which have been ongoing for some time and intensified in recent weeks — may result in a deal that could exceed more than £1bn, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
A deal would mark a partial exit for Caring, a 76-year-old rag trader-turned-hospitality mogul who has over decades assembled a portfolio of some of London and the UK’s best known lifestyle properties. It would also hand the entrepreneur funding to take his hospitality brands such as the Ivy into new markets.
The exact parameters of any transaction remain in flux but are anchored around Caring’s efforts to sell a stake in Troia, the company that owns the Ivy Collection, consisting of more than 40 restaurants in the UK and Ireland.
However, the talks have extended such that a deal could potentially include Caring’s other assets, such as his elite private members’ clubs in Mayfair — including Annabel’s, George and Harry’s Bar. Those clubs are held in an entity called Mark Birley Holdings that is co-owned by Qatari royal and former prime minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al-Thani.
Besides Troia and Mark Birley Holdings, Caring’s other companies include casual dining chain Bill’s and Caprice Holdings, which owns high-end restaurants including Sexy Fish, Scott’s and Bacchanalia.
The people involved stressed there was no guarantee of a deal being agreed between IHC and Caring, and highlighted the shifting nature of the discussions around price and assets.
Caring controls his empire through a complicated web of investment vehicles, which ultimately are owned through offshore holding companies in Jersey and the British Virgin Islands. The hospitality mogul also raised debt that cuts across these silos, with corporate filings showing that Troia, Caprice and Mark Birley Holdings have jointly guaranteed bank loans.
IHC, the most valuable company on Abu Dhabi’s stock exchange by market capitalisation, is the sprawling conglomerate controlled by Sheikh Tahnoon, the UAE’s national security adviser and a brother of President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed.
One of Abu Dhabi’s most powerful men, Sheikh Tahnoon also leads the UAE’s push into artificial intelligence through his G42 group. He visited the White House earlier this year and regularly meets top US tech executives.
IHC already has various hospitality investments. Its listed subsidiary Alpha Dhabi Holdings has a controlling stake in the National Corporation for Tourism and Hotels, whose assets include luxury hotels in Abu Dhabi, the Maldives and Seychelles. Through a joint venture with Monterock International, an investment group with a large hospitality portfolio, Alpha Dhabi also owns stakes in brands including Greek luxury resorts chain Nammos.
IHC said it “regularly engages in discussions around diverse opportunities across sectors” and that it discloses “any material developments once a transaction is confirmed”, in line with applicable regulations.
Caring declined to comment.
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