Thai hotel firm buys majority stake in Corbin & King

Thai-based Minor Hotels has acquired a majority shareholding in Corbin & King, which operates sites including the Wolseley, the Delaunay and Brasserie Zedel.

The hotel company, which operates over 150 sites globally, spent £58m on the deal which will see Chris Corbin and Jeremy King continue to hold a minority share.

Dillip Rajakarier, CEO Minor Hotels, said, "We at Minor Hotels are thrilled to be entering the UK market and are proud to partner with such a respected industry leader. Our strategic joint venture will build upon Minor Hotels' history of operating signature restaurants within our hotels and in third-party locations. We look forward to working with Jeremy and Chris to expand the Corbin & King portfolio in the UK and key international markets."

King added: "We took our time to find the right partner to take Corbin & King forward and I couldn't be happier that we found Bill Heinecke and Dillip Rajakarier and their team at Minor, for whom my respect grows daily. I look forward eagerly to the opportunities this presents."

Minor hotels is purchasing most of its stake from private equity firm Graphite Capital, which invested £21m in the company five years ago.

Graphite Capital senior partner, Andy Gray, said: "We have been proud of our partnership with Corbin & King. We have enjoyed the relationship over the last five years as the company grew from two restaurants to a total of six and we helped Jeremy and Chris open their first hotel, The Beaumont. We wish them further success with Minor Hotels."

Restaurateurs Corbin and King founded the company in 2003, their portfolio of restaurants include: the Wolseley in Mayfair, the Delaunay and the Counter at Delaunay both in Covent Garden, Colbert in Chelsea, Fischer's in Marylebone, the Beaumont hotel in Mayfair and the Colony inside the hotel, Bellanger in Islington and Brasserie Zedel, Soho.

In August, Corbin & King reported an increase annual turnover at Corbin & King Hotel Group by 24% to £54.2m in the year to 27 March 2016, driven by good trade at the Beaumont hotel and Fischer's.

Revenue up 24% at Corbin & King Hotel Group prior to group restructure >>

Corbin & King and Grosvenor reach new agreement over ownership of the Beaumont >>

New openings boost turnover at Corbin & King, but dent profits >>

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