The billionaire Richard Caring is completing a deal to sell 25% of his entire empire to the former prime minister of Qatar 'Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani'.
Caring, who owns the nightclub 'Annabel’s' in London’s Mayfair and the 'Ivy' restaurant, is understood to have agreed the outlines of a £200m deal with Hamad bin Jassim. It would put a valuation of £800m on Caring’s empire. Bin Jassim will have the option of purchasing another 25% of the group, depending on its performance.
The likely sale comes after Annabel’s has been renovated. Caring spent about £65m moving the club to a townhouse two doors down on Berkeley Square.
The 71-years-old 'Caring' owns Annabel’s via Mark Birley Holdings, which also owns George, Harry’s Bar and Mark’s Club in London. It posted pre-tax losses of £6.6m on sales of £23.4m in 2017. He owns the original Ivy restaurant and J Sheekey through Caprice Holdings, which made pre-tax profits of £23.8m on sales of £76.8m, and the Ivy chain through Troia, which made pre-tax losses of £3.5m on sales of £98.5m last year.
It is clear the the deal with bin Jassim would help Caring in paying down debts and funding further expansion. The talks were first thought to cover Mark Birley Holdings only, but are now said to involve Caring’s entire business operation. It is understood also that the deal has been put together by Ali Spencer-Churchill, Caring’s right-hand man, who has been travelling between London and Doha.
Bin Jassim, the former Qatari PM from 2007 to 2013, oversaw a string of controversial deals, including Qatar’s bailout of Barclays and its swoop on Harrods. It was reported that he played a role in the purchase of Maybourne Group, owner of Claridge’s in Mayfair, by Constellation Hotels of Qatar from the billionaire brothers Sir David and Sir Frederick Barclay in 2015.
It should be mentioned that Caring has also focused on turning the Ivy into a nationwide chain. There are now more than 30 sites, loosely based on the flagship in Covent Garden, including an expensively furnished branch in Manchester.
