Dorchester secures court order to sell Qatari sheikh's Fiat 500 in battle to recoup £460,000 in unpaid hotel bills
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By KRISTINA WEMYSS, GENERAL NEWS REPORTER
Published: | Updated:
One of London’s most lavish hotels will sell the car of a Qatari royal to try and recoup costs after he ran up an unpaid bill of more than £450,000.
The Dorchester, a five-star institution in Mayfair, sued Sheikh Nasser bin Abdullah al-Thani over outstanding payments for rooms, extra charges and interest.
A court has now found in favour of the hotel and it has been given permission to sell his limited edition 2011 Fiat 500 Abarth Tributo Ferrari – a compact, turbocharged city car with racing stripes.
The sheikh, who owes £458,000, is a member of the ruling al-Thani family and a distant cousin of its ruler, but has no government or state role.
The County Court at Central London found in favour of The Dorchester’s claim, lodged in March, to recoup ‘the sum of £198,180 and interest of £3,266 (on the hotel room and room charges) and £256,627’, according to the Financial Times.
District Judge Michael Javaherian also issued a separate order to allow the sale of the car. But with resale prices for the model around £23,500, it is unlikely to wipe out the sheikh’s debt.
Mr Al-Thani’s Instagram profile boasts a range of luxury cars, with 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, Mr al-Thani posted a picture of the latter car parked at The Dorchester.
Sheikh Nasser bin Abdullah al-Thani, the former vice-president of Malaga FC, left, with his father Abdullah al-Thani
Rooms at The Dorchester, in Mayfair, range from around £1,000 a night to more than £8,000,
Sheikh Nasser bin Abdullah al-Thani's limited edition 2011 Fiat 500 Abarth Tributo Ferrari will now be sold
He appears to have stayed there for several months. Rooms range from around £1,000 a night to more than £8,000, although the hotel does impose a 30-day limit on some continuous bookings.
His social media shows that he has also visited many other top hotels, including the Mandarin Oriental in Geneva, the Shangri-La in Paris and the Jumeirah Messilah Beach Hotel & Spa in Kuwait.
Mr al-Thani was previously vice-president at Malaga FC. However, an arrest warrant was issued in Europe earlier this year for him, his two brothers Nayef and Rakan, and his father Abdullah, who was the majority shareholder, over allegations they misappropriated funds from the club.
In 2020, a judge removed the four from their management positions and the club was temporarily banned from European competitions for financial breaches.
Spanish prosecutors are seeking around 14.5 years in prison for each of the men and have put the damage caused at €14.3million (£12.3million).
The authorities had reportedly tracked them to Munich before they came to the UK.
In the Dorchester case, Mr al-Thani reportedly failed to attend the hearing in London or send legal representation. The court papers listed his address as Al Wajiba Palace in Doha.
His lawyers said: ‘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.’
The al-Thani family has extensive links to luxury hotels in London. Qatari investors, led by former prime minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al-Thani, control the Maybourne Hotel Group, which operates the likes of 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.
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