Von Essen could lose out in battle for Lanesborough

Hotel group Von Essen looks likely to be trumped in its bid to buy the Lanesborough by investment company Oppenheimer and little-known US hotel group West Paces.

Von Essen is understood to have offered £110m for the five-star, 95-bedroom hotel, but Oppenheimer is said to have bid up to £120m for the exclusive property.

Oppenheimer has denied all knowledge of the deal, and no one from West Paces was available for comment as Caterer went to press, but sources close to the sale said an announcement could be made as early as tomorrow (23 April).

Atlanta-based West Paces, which was set up in 2002 by Horst Schulz, one of the founders of luxury hotel group Ritz-Carlton, will take over management of the hotel from Starwood Hotels & Resorts.

The Lanesborough is currently owned by the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and is widely regarded as one of the best performing hotels in the UK, outperforming every hotel in London in terms of revenue per available room. Rooms at the hotel cost about £300 a night.

The hotel was nearly bought several years ago by Simon Halabi, owner of the In & Out Club in Piccadilly, but the sale was never completed because of the 11 September terrorist attacks and the impact they had on the hotel industry.

If the deal does go ahead it will be the second large-scale hotel sale in the capital this month, following Irish property investment group Quinlan's £750m purchase of the Savoy Group.

Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, 22 - 28 April 2004