The Dorchester hotel to sell Qatari sheikh’s car over unpaid £460,000 bill
Member of ruling family ran up debt at Mayfair institution equivalent to stay of up to several months
One of London’s grandest hotels, The Dorchester, has secured a court order to sell a car belonging to a member of Qatar’s ruling family, after he ran up an unpaid bill of £458,000.
The five-star Mayfair institution sued Sheikh Nasser bin Abdullah al-Thani in March over outstanding payments for rooms, other room charges and interest.
The sheikh is a member of the sprawling ruling al-Thani family but has no government or state role. He was vice-president at Málaga football club where his father has been the majority shareholder.
The County Court at Central London found in July in favour of The Dorchester’s claim to recoup “the sum of £198,180.33 and interest of £3,266.89 (on the hotel room and room charges) and £256,627.86” from the sheikh, according to court documents seen by the FT.
In a separate order, District Judge Michael Javaherian also gave the hotel permission to sell the sheikh’s vehicle: a 2011 Fiat 500 Abarth Tributo Ferrari, a limited edition compact city car, accented with racing stripes.
Its sale is unlikely to significantly reduce al-Thani’s debt: the model has commanded a median average resale price of £23,500 since 2020, according to The Classic Valuer website.
Rooms at The Dorchester range from about £1,000 a night to more than £8,000.
That makes al-Thani’s debt equivalent to a stay of up to several months, although the hotel imposes a 30-day maximum on continuous bookings for some rooms.
Al-Thani did not attend the court hearing or send legal representation. The court papers listed his address as Al Wajiba Palace in Doha.
The sheikh’s lawyers told the FT: “Sheikh Al Thani has only recently become aware of these proceedings, which were not properly served on him. The sum sought by the Dorchester hotel is disputed and Sheikh Al Thani will be taking steps to set aside the judgment.”
Al-Thani’s time at Málaga FC proved turbulent. A judge removed him, his two brothers and his father from management positions at the club in 2020, following allegations of financial impropriety.
That came after a spree of unsustainable spending had seen Málaga flirt with the continent’s elite before being temporarily banned from European competitions for financial breaches, then relegated to Spain’s third division. The club was promoted again to the top division this year.
His Instagram profile confirms his fondness for luxury fast cars, boasting photos of a white Mirage GT, a limited edition of 25 cars based on the Porsche Carrera GT, and a Lamborghini Aventador in purple with orange accents. In 2015 al-Thani posted a picture of the latter car parked at The Dorchester.
His interest in top hotels is also borne out by his social media, which features photos posted by him from the Mandarin Oriental in Geneva, the Shangri-La in Paris and the Jumeirah Messilah Beach Hotel & Spa in Kuwait.
The Qatari ruling family has extensive links to London luxury hotels. Qatari investors led by Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al-Thani, Qatar’s former prime minister, control Maybourne Hotel Group, which operates high-end hotels including Claridge’s, The Connaught and The Berkeley.
The Dorchester is owned by the Brunei Investment Agency, an arm of the government of Brunei.
The Dorchester and its solicitors Gordons Partnership declined to comment.