Prince Charles & Prince Alwaleed Inaugurate Historic Landmark, The Savoy in London (United Kingdom)
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Prince Charles & Prince Alwaleed Inaugurate Historic Landmark, The Savoy in London (United Kingdom)
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Category: Europe - United Kingdom - Industry economy -
Renovation / Addition
This is a press release selected by our editorial committee and published online for free on 2010-11-04
Prince Charles & Prince Alwaleed Inaugurate Historic Landmark, The Savoy in London
US$800 Million Cost of Purchase & Grand Renovation
On Tuesday November 2nd 2010, HRH Prince Charles, The Prince of Wales and HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud, Chairman of Kingdom Holding Company (KHC) who was accompanied by his spouse HH Princess Ameerah Altaweel, Vice Chairwoman, Alwaleed Bin Talal Foundation inaugurated The Savoy hotel one of KHC’s major investments in the United Kingdom. The occasion was attended by Mr. Salah Al Hujailan, Legal Advisor to HRH the Chairman, Mr. Shadi Sanbar, CFO, Ms. Nada Al Sugair, Executive Director, Finance and Administration, Ms. Heba Fatani, Executive Manager, Corporate Communications, Dr. Nahla Alanbar, Private Executive Assistant to HRH the Chairman, Ms. Amani Algahtani, Assistant Executive Manager- HRH’s Palaces, Ms. Manal Alshammari Manager, Protocol, Mr. Fahad Alofy Executive Assistant to HRH the Chairman and Ms. Kholoud Al Dosari, Office Manager, HH Princess Ameerah.
During the Grand Inauguration Ceremony, the Prince of Wales was greeted by Prince Alwaleed and Princess Ameerah on his arrival to the Savoy, after which Mr. Kiaran Macdonald, General Manager of The Savoy, gave them a brief tour of the hotel. The two Princes were also introduced to the Savoy staff, the Architect and designer, and craftsmen who had worked on the prestigious project.
Moreover, Prince Alwaleed gave a speech to a distinguished audience to mark the occasion and invited Prince Charles to speak. The two also performed the grand inauguration by unveiling a marble plaque. The event was concluded with a press conference that included representatives from the global media, which Prince Alwaleed addressed.
The Savoy, London’s most iconic and historic luxury hotel managed by Fairmont, is 50% owned by KHC and co-owned by Llyods Banking Group with a total cost of US$800 million for the purchase and renovation. The 268 room hotel is one of London’s landmarks since its opening in 1889.
Fairmont Raffles is an integral component of KHC’s diverse hotel portfolio. Earlier this year, KHC announced an US$847 Million transaction with Qatari Diar involving Fairmont Raffles Holdings International (FRHI). Under the agreements, Voyager has acquired for a combination of cash and other consideration a 40% shareholding in FRHI. In addition, QDHP has undertaken to provide FRHI with a number of future management contracts for hotels that will be branded either Fairmont, Raffles or Swissotel. In 2006, KHC and Colony completed the acquisition of Fairmont Hotels & Resorts which was combined with the Raffles Hotels Group.
Prince Alwaleed through KHC has a number of investments in the United Kingdom including Canary Warf in the real estate sector and Citigroup in the financial sector. In addition, other investments include a 47.5% interest in the Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts co-owned by the billionaire Bill Gates, which manages 3 hotels; London at Park Lane, London at Canary Wharf and the third in Hampshire.
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