Sir Rocco Forte is returning to the London hotel market with the purchase of Brown's, a former Forte property, as predicted by Caterer last week.
On confirming speculation that he was looking to buy the Mayfair hotel from its Singaporean owner, Raffles International, he said: "It is good to be back in London, and particularly good to be back in Brown's, which is a unique property with immense charm."
The purchase is a joint venture between Forte's company, Rocco Forte Hotels, and the Bank of Scotland. The £51.5m deal will be completed on 3 July.
Brown's, dating back to 1837, is one of London's most traditional hotels. From 1968 until 1996, it was part of the Forte empire, built up by Sir Rocco's father, Lord Forte. Then, following a hostile takeover, Forte lost the family business and ownership of Brown's passed to Granada. In 1997, Granada broke up the old Forte company and sold Brown's to the Raffles group.
The hotel has 118 bedrooms and is home to the high-profile 1837 restaurant, run by executive chef Andrew Turner.
Sir Rocco plans to spend between £10m and £11m on refurbishing the hotel. He said: "Brown's has a good name and I think possibly we can turn it into one of the best hotels in London."
Yvette Thüring is leaving her position as general manager of Brown's and the hotel will be run by David Pantin, Forte's managing director for the UK and Russia, until a replacement is found. It is understood that Thüring is joining a Swissôtel venue as manager. She was unavailable for comment.
Hotels in the Rocco Forte collection
- Hotel de Russie, Rome: 125 bedrooms
- Hotel Savoy, Florence: 107 bedrooms
- Balmoral, Edinburgh: 188 bedrooms
- St David's Hotel & Spa, Cardiff: 132 bedrooms
- Lowry Hotel, Manchester: 165 bedrooms
- Hotel Astoria, St Petersburg: 227 bedrooms
- Hotel Amigo, Brussels: 174 bedrooms
Future opening: Frankfurt, 2006