The Tamesis
London’s Westdale Mayfair Hotel, part of the Royal Group.
Provided by Little International
Royal Group – controlled by Singapore real estate billionaire Asoke Kumar Hiranandani—Choose Minor Hotels, owned by a Thai hotelier William HeinekeBangkok-based Minor International to manage its first hotel in London
Last year, the Singapore-based Royal Group acquired the former NatWest Bank (formerly Bank of Westminster) building on Piccadilly in Mayfair, central London, for £65 million and earmarked a further £45 million to transform the century-old heritage building into a six-storey, 50-suite luxury boutique hotel.
“We believe this project makes a meaningful contribution to the ongoing regeneration of Mayfair and the wider West End,” Royal Group co-chairman Bobby Hiranandani said in a statement. statement. “By reactivating an outstanding heritage building on Piccadilly we not only retain its heritage but also introduce a carefully curated hospitality experience that will enhance the character, vibrancy and global appeal of the area.”
London’s WestDill Mayfair Hotel is Royal Group’s first hotel in Europe and will open in the fourth quarter of this year. It is part of Minor Hotels’ Colbert Collection. The hotel is inspired by the convivial atmosphere of Paris’s boulevard cafes and the cultural vitality of London’s original Colbert bistro.
Dillip Rajakarier, CEO of Minor Hotels and CEO of parent company Minor International, said in a statement: “We are delighted to be working with Royal Singaporean Group of Companies to bring The Colbert Collection to London and believe this new hotel will provide a highly attractive offering for London visitors.”
In recent years, London has attracted other Singaporean property tycoons. Billionaire Kwek Leng Beng’s City Developments acquired St. Katharine Docks in 2023, and property magnate Chua Thian Poh’s Ho Bee Land acquired The Scalpel office skyscraper the year before.
Hiranandani was a co-founder of the former Royal Brothers real estate group, which was spun off in 2011 following a family settlement with his brother Raj Kumar. Raj Kumar is also a billionaire and runs his own independent companies Royal Holdings and RB Capital with his son Kishin.
Hiranandani owns major assets in Singapore through the Royal Group, including the Sofitel Sentosa resort and the Royal Group office tower in the heart of Raffles Place central business district. The company also owns hotels in Malaysia, such as the DoubleTree by Hilton Kuala Lumpur. With an estimated net worth of US$1.9 billion, Hiranandani is one of the richest people in Singapore.
Minor was founded in Thailand in 1970 by Heinecke (born in the United States and a naturalized Thai citizen) when he was a minor, hence the name. The company has since grown into one of Asia’s largest hotel chains, operating more than 600 hotels with more than 90,000 rooms worldwide and making Heinecke one of Thailand’s richest men, with a real-time net worth of $1.3 billion. Forbes‘ data. The billionaire hotelier plans to raise $1.5 billion by injecting capital into some of Minor’s hotels. REIT The company will be listed in Singapore later this year.
