Billionaire Mukesh
Ambani's Reliance Industries Ltd has bought Britain's iconic country club and
luxury golf resort, Stoke Park, for 57 million pounds (about Rs 592 crore).
The
acquisition adds to Reliance's current stake in Oberoi hotels and hotel/managed
residences in Mumbai that it's developing.
Over the past four years,
Reliance has announced $3.3 billion in acquisitions with 14 per cent in retail,
80 per cent in technology, media, and telecom (TMT) sector, and 6 per cent in
energy.
The UK-based
firm, which owns a hotel and golf course in Buckinghamshire, UK, will add to
Reliance's consumer and hospitality assets, the firm said in a filing late on
Thursday.
"Reliance Industrial
Investments and Holdings Ltd (RIIHL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance
Industries Limited, has on April 22, 2021, acquired the entire issued share
capital of Stoke Park Limited, a company incorporated in the United Kingdom,
for 57 million pounds," it said.
Stoke Park Limited owns and
manages sporting and leisure facilities in Stoke Poges, Buckinghamshire, UK.
The facilities include a
hotel, conference facilities, sports facilities and one of the highest rated
golf courses in Europe.
"RIIHL will look to
enhance the sports and leisure facilities at this heritage site, while fully
complying with the planning guidelines and local regulations," Reliance
said.
This acquisition will add
to the consumer and hospitality footprint of the oil-to-telecom conglomerate.
The group already has
investments in EIH Ltd (Oberoi Hotels) and is developing state-of-the-art
convention centre, hotel and managed residences in BKC Mumbai.
This is the second major
acquisition of an iconic British company by Ambani, 64.
He bought British's iconic
toy store Hamleys in 2019, to strengthen its retail footprint.
Stoke Park has always had a
close relationship to Pinewood Studios and the British film industry.
Two James Bond movies
-- Goldfinger (1964) and Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
were filmed at Stoke Park.
The epic duel between James
Bond (Sean Connery) and Goldfinger (Gert Frobe) is still considered to be the
most famous game of golf in cinematic history, the Park stated on its website.
Scenes like mini-break and
rowing scenes from Bridget Jones's Diary (2001) starring Hugh Grant, Renée
Zellweger and Colin Firth were also filmed at the estate with the Georgian-era
mansion set in the midst of 300 acres of parkland.
Stoke Park hosts 49 luxury bedrooms and suits, 27-hole golf course, 13 tennis courts and 14 acres of private gardens.
Although the Stoke Park
estate has a recorded history of over 900 years, it was used as a private
residence until 1908, according to its official website.
Mayer Brown International
LLP and Khaitan & Co acted as legal counsels for the transaction, and Ernst
& Young UK advised on financial and tax matters.
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