Consortium close to deal for the Savoy

An Irish consortium, headed by former revenue inspector Derek Quinlan, is close to agreeing a deal to buy the Savoy hotel group in London from US investment firms the Blackstone group and Colony Capital.

The hotel group consists of Claridges, the Savoy, the Connaught and Berkeley hotels, which together are worth an estimated €1.14bn.

Reports this morning say that the consortium has seen off a rival bid from the fourth richest person in the world, Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Tala Assaud, and is now in the final stages of agreeing a deal.

Quinn has previously put together consortia to buy Four Seasons hotels in Dublin, Milan, Prague and Budapest.