Lehman Brothers JV sells London hotel

Lehman Brothers and Starwood Capital are putting le Méridien Hotel on London's Piccadilly on the block. The hotel was bought as part of a package of properties in 2005. Le Meridien is expected to sell for around $140m.

Lehman Brothers and Starwood Capital have put le Méridien Hotel on Piccadilly in London up for sale.

The pair have appointed specialist hotel broker Molinaro Koger to sell the property, according to a statement.

A joint venture between affiliates of Lehman Brothers and US firm Starwood Capital took control of the asset as part of a package deal in November 2005, involving properties across Europe. The 2005 deal saw Starwood take over the management contracts while the joint venture between Starwood and Lehman Brothers acquired the leases.

“Despite the financial uncertainty, there is a great deal of interest in this property, which is in a particularly coveted location,” said Eric Kudlak, managing director Europe at the broker.

Kudlak is quoted in The Times saying the sale was unrelated to the collapse of the bank and that Starwood had been gradually selling off assets since before trouble surfaced at Lehman.

According to the report, the hotel has an estimated price tag of £90 million (€111 million; $142 million).