Abu-Dhabi Investment Giant Buys ‘The Caley” in Edinburgh for £85m

Date: January 2018

Location: Princes Street, Edinburgh, Scotland

Name: The Waldorf Astoria Edinburgh – The Caledonian – five star. Opened in 1903 as a British Rail hotel (Caledonian Railways). Purchased by Hilton in 2000, who sold the hotel in August 2007 for £51.7m.

 

No. of Keys: 241. The hotel also offers two restaurants operated by Michelin-starred brothers, Chris and Jeff Galvin, and is home to the UK’s only Guerlain Spa, as well as a gym.

Seller: Farnsworth Group, JLL and HVS Hodges Ward Elliott advised on the sale. Back in August 2002 The hotel had a relaunch in 2012 following a £24m investment and renovation programme.

Buyer: Abu Dhabi-based Twenty14 Holdings, the hospitality investment arm of Lulu Group International, who bought the original site of Scotland Yard police headquarters in London for £110m in 2015. JLL arranged the debt financing for the purchaser. Hilton will continue to run the hotel under the Waldorf Astoria brand.

Price: £85m

Price per Key: £325,697

THPT Comment: This landmark hotel can truly be classed at the Grande Dame hotel of Edinburgh. Guests can still gain a real sense of history as they wine and dine in the stunning surrounds of the hotel’s airy lounge, Peacock Alley, which was once part of the old station.

There’s even the original station clock by Hamilton & Inches sitting proudly in its posh frame fixed against the red Locharbriggs sandstone. Miraculously, the timepiece is still with us after surviving the terrible fire of 1890 and to this day it’s still set 5 minutes fast to help passengers catch their trains. A nice touch.

Additional info by David McLean 

First Seen: Property Week