Blakes Hotel rescued from administration for £20m

Luxury boutique hotel Blakes Hotel in London has been purchased out of administration for around £20million, as its new owners announce plans to take the brand abroad.​

The iconic Mayfair hotel was bought by Navid Mirtorabi, hotelier and investor, Meir Abutbul founder of boulanger-patisserie chain Apostrophe. 

The partners said they planned to expand the Blakes brand internationally, although nobody was available to comment on the details today.

The 51-room Blakes hotel is set to be redesigned by Anouska Hempel, the same designer who came up with the concept for the hotel when it first opened in 1981.

Meir Abutbul, director of the new management company Blakes Management, said: “Blakes is spectacular, it looks sumptuous, but we have some improvements in mind and Anouska Hempel will be in charge of design and styling. We are also planning on expanding the Blakes brand internationally.”

Abutbul’s first business in the UK was the café chain Apostrophe, and he owns two other hotels in London. Mirtorabi owns several other hotels in London.

Guestinvest​

Blakes hotel hit trouble two years ago when parent company GuestInvest, the firm that pioneered "buy to let hotel rooms", fell into administration.

However Barclay's which financed the rescue deal for Blakes, said that the prospects were now good for the hotel.

Nick Worthington, relationship director at Barclays Corporate, said: “The London boutique sector continues to perform very strongly, and the opportunity that an expansion of Blakes presents is a compelling one.

He added: "It is great for us to be working alongside Navid and Meir as they take Blakes to the next level."