Rosewood London put up for sale

Luxury hotel the Rosewood London has been put on the market for an undisclosed sum, according to Bloomberg.

The report stated that the owner, investment firm CTF Development – itself owned by the billionaire Cheng family, is aiming to free up capital, as the family’s Hong Kong property group New World Development Co faces liquidity challenges.

A spokesperson at Rosewood Hotel Group told Bloomberg that the company wouldn’t comment on ownership matters, but said its brands are not up for sale and all its properties remain fully operational as usual. Chow Tai Fook Enterprises, the private investment arm of the Cheng family, didn’t respond to Bloomberg’s request for comment.

CTF Development previously tried to sell the hotel in 2016, when it was valued at £450m.

The Cheng family paid £135m for the property in 2006 and in 2013 embarked on an £85m renovation to transform it from what was the Chancery Court hotel.

The Rosewood London currently features 264 bedrooms, 44 suites, 11 event spaces and the Holborn Dining Room restaurant.

Built in 1914, the grade II-listed building was the headquarters of the Pearl Assurance Company, which occupied it until 1989.

The property opened as a hotel in 2000 as the Renaissance Chancery Court, under the management of Marriott. It ended its association with Marriott in June 2011 and has since been managed by its owner.

The formerly US-owned Rosewood brand has expanded across Europe since the Cheng family acquired it in 2011.

The group currently has 58 Rosewood properties around the world.

The Hong Kong-based company launched its second London property – the £1b Chancery Rosewood – on 1 September. Set within the former US embassy on Grosvenor Square, the Grade II-listed building was transformed into a 144-suite hotel with eight restaurants and bars and an Asaya Spa.