Qatar buys 50% stake in London Savoy Hotel

Bloomberg/DubaiThe Savoy, the five-star London hotel once frequented by Winston Churchill, Marilyn Monroe and Claude Monet, is now owned by the state of Qatar and one of Saudi Arabia’s richest men.Qatar’s government-owned Katara Hospitality Co bought a 50% stake from Lloyds Banking Group and Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal’s Kingdom Holding Co owns the rest, Kingdom said in a statement yesterday, without providing a value for the transaction.Katara Hospitality, owned by Qatar’s sovereign-wealth fund, is in talks to buy “iconic” hotels in London and Rome as it seeks to more than double its properties by 2030, chief operating officer Christopher R J Knable said last year. The country’s sovereign wealth fund made a joint bid this month for Songbird Estates Plc, which controls the Canary Wharf financial district in London.The Savoy, located a short walk away from the north bank of the River Thames on The Strand, first opened in 1889. It reopened in October 2010 after a £230mn ($360mn) renovation that took about 30 months. The hotel typically charges at least £365 a night for a basic room, according to its website.Kingdom Holdings and the Qatar Investment Authority together own a 35% stake in Fairmont Raffles Holdings International Hotels Co, according to the statement.