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Ritz London co-owner reveals £1 billion+ offers for hotel
Several bids of more than £1.0 billion have been received as offers to buy London's Ritz hotel, co-owner Frederick Barclay said.
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People walk past the Ritz hotel in central London on December 17, 2012. (AFP/Carl Court)
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everal bids of more than £1.0 billion ($1.3 billion, 1.2 billion euros) have been received as offers to buy London's Ritz hotel, co-owner Frederick Barclay said on Wednesday.
The luxury hotel in an 18th century Grade II-listed building overlooking Green Park in central London was put on the market last year.
Barclay, who has owned the property with his twin brother David since 1995, said "there have been a number of competing offers for this first-class hotel in excess of £1 billion".
"I have no doubt that such offers will be considered so that the Ritz is sold at the right time and for a proper price. There is no place for any sale at less than full value."
Media reports have said bids for the 136-room hotel of about £700 million were less than hoped for.
Potential bidders reportedly include a private investment group representing prominent Saudi families.
Frederick Barclay said there was "no place for any sale at less than full value".
Read also: Yours for $1 billion only: The glamor of the London Ritz
The billionaire brothers were worth £8 billion, according to the Sunday Times Rich List 2019.
As well as the Ritz, their empire includes the Daily Telegraph newspaper and the Spectator magazine, where Prime Minister Boris Johnson made his name, and retail operations.
But the pair, who live in the Channel Islands, have been at the center of a public family feud after claims Frederick Barclay and his daughter were secretly recorded at the Ritz by a nephew.
British media reports this week said the bugging came against a backdrop of family infighting over the direction of their business interests and assets.
The High Court was told the listening devices provided confidential business information.
Frederick Barclay said in his statement that he was "deeply shocked and saddened about recent events involving unethical conduct and intrusion" into his privacy.
"I hope we can get these family matters resolved so that we can all move on."
