Multi-business conglomerate Sahara India Pariwar has purchased the London Grosvenor Hotel in a deal worth £470 million.

The deal is the largest overseas acquisition in the hospitality sector by an Indian company to date.

Sarah will pay Royal Bank of Scotland for the property, after the bank took control of in 2001 when it paid £1.2 billion for 12 Le Meridien hotels as part of a sale-and-leaseback deal.

Pictured: Grosvenor House sits on Park Lane in London

The five-star luxury hotel on Park Lane in London is presently run by JW Marriott.

RBS had sought £700 million from the sale of the property, which has been on the market for three years.

Two previous auctions have failed.

In 2010 Grosvenor House was recognised by the World Travel Awards as England’s Leading Conference Hotel for the fourth time – with insiders suggesting this may have aided the sale.

“The valuation of the hotel, three years back was more than £1 billion,” explained Subrata Roy Sahara, chairman of Sahara Group.

“The valuation, even today is quite high but due to highly satisfactory due diligence by the Royal Bank of Scotland which owned the property and after long and strict negotiations, we have purchased it for £470 million,” he added.

Grosvenor House was recognised by the World Travel Awards in 2010

Grosvenor House

Grosvenor House is located in the prestigious locality of Park Lane in Mayfair and has been iconic landmark since it was completed in the 18th century.

It presently offers 420 rooms, 74 suites, 27 meeting rooms and also houses Europe’s largest and most famous hotel banqueting space, the Great Room.

“This acquisition is a part of the major expansion plans of the group,” continued Mr Sahara.

“In addition to the acquisition of Grosvenor House, London will be the gateway for Sahara to introduce some of its new business ventures, internationally.”

Sahara India Pariwar was formed in 1978 and has operations in multiple sectors including hospitality, tourism, city development and real estate.

The group also owns the Hotel Sahara Star in India.

Visitors to London can now enjoy the new World.Mobi guide to the city

World Mobi

Also in Europe today, World Mobi is celebrating the success of its new city guide to London. 

World Mobi offers the most comprehensive mobile travel guides available, with over 800 cities in 200 countries listed. Each is developed by the World Mobi team to combine into a single global travel directory.

However, each city retains its own mobile identity via a dedicated domain. Already on offer are Brussels.Mobi, London.Mobi, Sanfrancisco.Mobi and Sydney.Mobi.

London.Mobi is the latest in this illustrious line up, offering click to call functionality – which means no scribbling down telephone numbers.

Most entries are also linked to websites where users can quickly access more detailed information if needed.

Other key features include information on accommodation, restaurants, attractions, entertainment, nightlife, shopping, and transport.

World.Mobi guides include user reviews and traveller utilities such as a translation guide, currency converter, news and local weather guide.