D&D to open London hotel
D&D London, the company formerly known as Conran Restaurants, is marking its return to the hotel business with a new £50m boutique hotel in Moorgate.
D&D, which is still 51 per cent owned by Sir Terence Conran, will work with property developer Frogmore to create a luxury 80-room hotel, which it hopes will receive planning permission and be open for business by 2012.
The firm sold its 50 per cent stake in Liverpool Street’s Great Eastern Hotel to US rival Hyatt in 2006, but vowed to return to the market as soon as possible.
D&D chairman and chief executive Des Gunewardena said it had previously held back on this project, but that a launch in the hotel space was now viable.
The Moorgate venture heralds the start of D&D’s development of a small chain of city boutique hotels, with a site in Birmingham being looked at closely by the group.
The Pont de la Tour and Blueprint Café owner also plans to open three restaurants and bars on the rooftop of The Cube development in Birmingham.
It said that trading in its eateries was a better than a year ago, although a recovery in private dining has yet to be matched by business spending, especially on corporate events.
The group owns 30 restaurants, including ones in New York, Tokyo and Paris – with total revenues of around £75m a year.
The firm changed its name to D&D London after Gunewardena and managing director David Loewi and their management team acquired a 49 per cent stake.