Hurdle for Barclays’ hotel bid
Attempts by the Barclay brothers to take control of the Maybourne Hotel Group have hit a snag, after a Malaysian sovereign wealth fund bought up debts linked to the firm. 1Malaysia Development Fund is thought to have paid £50m for debts held by the Irish government against shares owned by one of Maybourne’s biggest investors, Derek Quinlan. The Barclay brothers, who already own The Ritz, first made advances towards the owner of Claridge’s, the Berkeley and the Connaught hotels in January.