Restaurateur to the rich and famous Richard Caring has reportedly put his stake in The Ivy Collection up for auction, valued at around £1 billion.
It was towards the end of last year that Caring was rumoured to be selling his 50% stake in The Ivy Collection, and now documents shared by HSBC have revealed that it is indeed up for grabs.
Caring acquired The Ivy, including the original West End restaurant and its spinoffs, when he took over Caprice Holdings in 2005 (though now the collection is under Troia UK Restaurants). In 2018 The Ivy Asia brand was launched. In total, including The Ivy Asia, there are around 50 sites across the UK, with the main concentration in London where the original restaurant was founded in 1917.
Caring co-owns The Ivy Collection with Sheikh Hamad Bin-Jassim Bin-Jaber Al Thani, who served as Prime Minister of Qatar from 2007 to 2013, though Caring has full operational control over the restaurants.
According to reports, one interested buyer in Caring’s stake is Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund – which controversially took over Premier League football club Newcastle United in 2021. In December 2023 it acquired a 49% stake in Rocco Forte Hotels, and may be looking to further develop its luxury portfolio.
From Bacchanalia and Annabel’s to to Sexy Fish and Scott’s, Caring’s restaurants are known for their celebrity clientele and often outlandish interiors, with the food arguably being secondary to the design.
WLC has reached out to The Ivy Collection for comment.
This article originally appeared on the drinks business.
