Intercontinental Hotel Group’s grand plans for selling off its prestigious Paris property have been wrecked after the Dubai-based buyers pulled out of the deal.
Dubai Holdings and hotel chain Jumeirah International are both controlled by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Crown Prince of Dubai.
It is believed the companies were pulled out of the deal because of a death in the Prince’s family, which is in accordance with local custom.
However, the unexpected withdrawal from the sale could reignite interest from previous failed bidders such as the Syrian investor Simon Halabi, Starwood Capital, or Buckingham Securities.
The Paris landmark had been valued at around £220m and is part of IHG’s disposal programme of £2.2b of assets.
The company has already disposed of 123 hotels for a total of £1.8b and has a further 22 properties on the market valued at £420m.
But, IHG is on the verge of agreeing the sale of the 195- bedroom George Intercontinental in Edinburgh to Principal hotels for an estimated £20m.
The listed property was designed by Robert Adam and is expected to be sold outright rather than as a sale-and-manage-back deal, which IHG’s is pursuing for most of its assets.
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