Ritz sold for half the market value amid family feud, court hears

London’s iconic Ritz hotel was sold for only half of its £1.3bn market value, it has been revealed.

The hotel was acquired by Qatari Investors in March for an undisclosed sum to much contention from one half of the Barclay family.

Now, the sale price has been revealed to be around half the £1.3bn previously offered by Saudi investors during a court hearing between Sir Frederick and Sir David Barclay.

It comes amid a continuing legal feud between the two brothers’ families after a court heard Sir Frederick’s private conversations were secretly recorded by his twin brother’s sons at the hotel.

Frederick, 85, and his daughter Amanda claimed Sir David’s three sons were “parties” to the secret recording of their private conversations in the conservatory of the hotel, which the Barclays owned at the time.

The high court heard that the children of Sir David and Sir Frederick were in a serious disagreement about the family trust, and the quarrel had “pitched cousin against cousin”.

A spokesperson for the new owner said at the time: “It is a privilege to become the owner of the iconic Ritz Hotel and have the opportunity to build on its innate style and grand traditions.

“During this Covid-19 crisis, our first priority is towards the staff of The Ritz, who together are the essence of The Ritz’s 115 year old reputation. Once this pandemic has passed, we look forward to re-opening the hotel and to sharing our longer-term plans.”

The Barclay brothers originally bought the hotel in 1995 for £75m.