Richard Caring sells £200m Caprice Holdings stake

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Richard Caring has sold a 25% share of his hospitality empire Caprice Holdings to the former prime minister of Qatar, Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, for £200m.

As reported by The Daily Mail, the deal valued his business at $1 billion (£800m).

Caring bought the Caprice Holdings group, which includes The Ivy, private members' club Annabel's and restaurant Sexy Fish, for £31.5m in 2005.

The deal is understood to have been put together by Caring’s right-hand man, Alexander Spencer-Churchill, grandson of the 10th Duke of Marlborough, and could help fund further expansion of the group.

Speaking to BigHospitality's sister site MCA last month, Caring admitted some of the struggles that had been faced by Bill’s Restaurants – he acquired a controlling stake in the business in 2008 – and said that a CVA could have been one way out.

“But this is something we wanted to avoid at all costs. We’re fighters. We’ll make it work by investing into the business.”

His bullish approach will also see the launch of five Ivy Collection restaurants in November alone, and three Bill’s, later this month – an investment of £25-30m.