Yoshihiro Murata pays £1.5m premium for Sakura site
Acclaimed Japanese chef Yosihiro Murata is to try his luck on the London restaurant scene for a second time, after paying a £1.5m premium to secure a Mayfair site.
Murata, who holds a total of seven Michelin stars at two restaurants in Kyoto and one in Tokyo, has taken on the site of Sakura in Conduit Street, W1.
Sakura, opened in 1975, has been one of London's longest established Japanese restaurants.
It is not the first time Murata has attempted to break into the London restaurant scene.
In 2012, with the help of Hakkasan, he opened Chrysan in the City of London, but the 100-cover site closed six months later.
David Rawlinson founder of Restaurant Property whose agency was jointly involved with CBRE in broking the deal said: "There are few chefs in the world who manage to successfully balance deep tradition, genuine innovation, and exquisite presentation. Yoshihiro Murata is one of them. This is the latest in a series of deals that we have advised on that have seen restaurateurs pay out massive premiums to secure flagship restaurants in London's Mayfair."