Mittal eyes luxury hotels in UK

After acquiring some of the most lavish homes in London, NRI steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal is now considering the prospect of investing in upmarket country hotels, a media report said on Sunday.

LK Advisers, a consultant of Mittal family, is understood to be in talks with Von Essen Hotels, one of Britain's largest privately-owned collections of luxury hotels, on the subject of acquiring a stake in the business, according to The Sunday Telegraph.

Andrew Davis, the entrepreneur who owns Von Essen, is contemplating selling a stake in the group in a move that would allow him to crystalize some of his estimated pound 210 million fortune.

Davis, the report said, wants to use external investment as a platform for bidding for the European properties of Orient Express Hotels, owner of the eponymous train operator.

Orient Express, which itself has been subject of takeover speculation, has signalled that its European assets, which include La Residencia hotel in Malorca, are not for sale.

People close to the company said it could announce a significant acquisition of its own as soon as this week.

Other businesses Mittal is eyeing a stake in include Cliveden stately home in Oxfordshire and The Royal Crescent in Bath, it said.

LK Advisers and Von Essen both declined to comment.