Hotelier Paddy McKillen Received £5m Management Fee For Oversight Of Maybourne Hotel Group From Emir Of Qatar In 2019

Accounts that were filed in the UK in December of 2020 for London’s Claridge’s, Connaught and Berkeley hotels revealed that businessman and hotelier Paddy McKillen received a £5 million management fee for his oversight of the Maybourne Hotel Group in 2019 from companies controlled by the emir of Qatar.

As reported by The Irish Times, McKillen was previously a co-owner of London’s Claridge’s, Connaught and Berkeley hotels, but he sold his interests to the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamin bin Hamad al-Thani, in 2015, however, he was retained as an advisor to the emir following the sale.

It is believed that, in addition to his yearly fee, McKillen has a stake in any of future uplift in the Maybourne Hotel Group’s value, but he is not a shareholder in the hotels at present.

The Irish Times quotes a spokesperson for McKillen as saying, “Paddy McKillen personally manages and develops the hotels and the Maybourne brand with his team. He also has a substantial investment in the company.”

Claridge’s

Various accounts that were filed in the UK last month suggest that approximately £1.8 million of the management fee that was paid to McKillen’s Dublin-based Hume Street Consultants company in 2019 relates to his work at Claridge’s.

The ownership of Claridge’s is vested separately to the Maybourne Hotel Group’s other London hotels in Coroin, which also owns an investment property that is adjacent to Claridge’s.

Coroin’s accounts show a £9 million decrease in turnover to £58 million in 2019. Additionally, Claridge’s experienced a loss of £10.8 million after experiencing a pre-tax profit of £4.1 million the previous year, and its revenue per available room (RevPAR) increased by a fifth. Much of the hotel’s loss in 2019 was due to rolling closures of its room stock during that year to allow building work to take place.

Connaught And Berkley

Accounts for Selene Midco, which owns the Connaught and Berkley hotels as well as another London hotel development, indicate that the company’s revenues held steady in 2019 at £107.9 million while its pre-tax profits decreased from £6 million to £2.3 million. McKillen’s long-time associate Liam Cunnningham is a director of Selene Midco.

Originally published by Hospitality Ireland – your source for the latest industry news. Article by Dave Simpson.