SAUDI Prince Al Waleed is talking to Granada Group about buying the prestige hotels it is acquiring from Forte, a Saudi source said on yesterday. Prince Al Waleed Bin Talal, who helped bail out the Disneyland Paris theme park and London's Canary Wharf real estate project, is "talking to Granada about everything . . . about all the hotels they have", according to a Saudi source.
Granada officials declined to comment. Granada plans to keep Forte's Posthouse and Travelodge hotels, the moderate and budget chains, while selling off the prestige properties.
The hotels to be sold include Forte's Meridien and Exclusive chains and the 68 per cent equity stake in the Savoy hotel company, owner of the Savoy and the Connaught, Claridge's, and the Berkeley hotels.
The Savoy stake, however, carries only 42 per cent of the voting rights. The voting control of the Savoy is held by London's Wontner family.
A spokeswoman for Savoy declined comment, saying she had no knowledge of the situation. Although the Forte stake in the Savoy is to be sold by Granada, it is believed the Wontner family will have a strong say in determining the buyer because of its young control.
Any buyer not reaching an amicable accord with the Wontners could face the same difficulties that dogged the Forte family, which acquired its stake in 1981 after launching a hostile bid for the group.
Marriott International, the US based hotel chain, on Monday said it had rejected an approach by Granada to swap its catering business for the Meridien and Exclusive hotels.
