The Ivy. Who sits at the table.
The Ivy, Annabel's and Scott's have been sold for £1.4 billion to one buyer. It is not a restaurant deal. It is about who owns the rooms where the establishment eats.
THE GIST ON THE IVY: "The Reservation"
What has been sold?
The Ivy, Annabel's and Scott's have been sold for £1.4 billion, all to the same buyer. Everyone is reporting it as a restaurant deal, but it's much more than that.
Richard Caring bought all three 20 years ago for about £50 million. He has sold them to a group backed by the Abu Dhabi royal family, the same people behind a trillion-dollar sovereign wealth fund. They already own Zuma and Roka and are building what they call the world's biggest luxury hospitality platform.
Why does it matter who owns them?
Some of the most important business decisions in the country get made over lunch at places like these. Annabel's is where the establishment spends its evenings. Caring spent 20 years building places good enough for the people who run things to call them their own. That's what has just changed hands.
What is the question?
We have national security reviews for foreign ownership of water companies and energy firms. Maybe we should for these too. Harrods, Man City, McLaren, and now the restaurants where the establishment eats.
What does a restaurant owner get?
The most powerful people in the country are your guests. You see who they're meeting and what they're celebrating. You know things before anyone else does.
Buying the restaurant could be easier than buying any of them, because you don't need to lobby a government that relies on your money. All of it together is diplomatic insurance, and every deal like this makes the relationship harder to unwind. At what point do we realise we can't say no any more?
Should foreign buyers of famous restaurants face a security review?
Your take. One tap, then see how everyone else voted.
Quick answers
How much were The Ivy, Annabel's and Scott's sold for?
£1.4 billion, to a group backed by the Abu Dhabi royal family. Richard Caring paid about £50 million 20 years ago.
Who is the buyer?
A group backed by the Abu Dhabi royal family, with a trillion-dollar sovereign wealth fund behind it.
Why does Huw see it as bigger than a restaurant deal?
Because the people who run the country eat there, and owning those rooms builds influence and diplomatic insurance.
See you on the next one.
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