Abu Dhabi Royals Involved in RBS Talks: Sources

REUTERS.COM: Talks to sell a stake in Britain's state-owned Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L) are being held at the level of the Abu Dhabi ruling family, sources told Reuters on Tuesday.

A source familiar with the matter said Amanda Staveley, a businesswoman notable for her Middle Eastern connections, was advising the emirate's rulers.

"The talks have been going on for six months, and nothing is likely to materialize for the next few months," the source said, adding that Abu Dhabi could end up with a stake of more than a third, though it has not decided which of its entities would hold the stake.

Staveley played a prominent role in Abu Dhabi royal Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahayan's 2008 investment in another British bank, Barclays (BARC.L).

A senior banker told Reuters that the oil-rich emirate's sovereign wealth funds were not involved in talks at this stage.

"It's happening higher up," the banker said, adding that a deal could fall apart on price grounds. Two other banking sources also said that a deal, if it happened, would be struck at a government-to-government level.

"Abu Dhabi is always talking to parties to invest, including RBS. Whether it will materialize or not is too early to say," a source close to the royal family said on condition of anonymity. » | Stanley Carvalho and Mirna Sleiman | ABU DHABI/DUBAI | Tuesday, Mar 27, 2012

About Amanda Staveley, the deal-making queen:

LONDON SPECTATOR: Dealmaking Queen Amanda Staveley Marries Her Prince » | Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Related »

Chelsea Barracks: The Deal-maker
THE GUARDIAN: Amanda Staveley is best known for orchestrating Abu Dhabi's and Qatar's eye-catching £7.3bn investment in Barclays in 2008

Amanda Staveley takes her seat at a football match. Photograph: The Guardian
Amanda Staveley, broker to the sheikhs, has pulled off another high-profile property deal for the emirate of Qatar, which is continuing its aggressive buying spree in London.

Staveley advised the Qatari property company Barwa Real Estate on the £250m acquisition of the Park House site in Oxford Street - the biggest development in the area since the Second World War - from the developer, Land Securities.

Staveley is best known for orchestrating Abu Dhabi's and Qatar's eye-catching £7.3bn investment in Barclays in 2008, followed a few months later by the takeover of Manchester City Football Club by Abu Dhabi's ruling family. The 37-year-old former athlete and model reportedly pocketed £5m to £7.5m in fees from the latest deal.

The news came as it emerged that the Qatar Investment Authority, the emirate's sovereign wealth fund, was in talks to take a third share in the Savoy hotel in London. The 120-year-old hotel is owned under a 50-50 joint venture by HBOS and Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal's Kingdom Holding. It is due to reopen in October after a refurbishment that has taken 18 months longer than expected and is likely to cost more than twice the originally budgeted £100m. The hotel comes with a big debt burden – its 2008 accounts showed loans of $212m and that figure is likely to be higher now.

Another part of the QIA, Qatar Holding, is said to have joined the bidding war for Grosvenor House, the five-star hotel put up for sale by Royal Bank of Scotland at the start of the year. The hotel, on Park Lane in Mayfair, has attracted interest from a handful of bidders, including the Abu Dhabi and Singapore sovereign wealth funds. The sale is expected to raise at least £500m. >>> Julia Kollewe | Thursday, June 17, 2010

Related articles here

Don’t be fooled by the sweet, demure looks! Isn’t this the face of a ruthless businesswoman, willing to sell off Britain’s assets to the rich Arabs and line her own pockets in the process?
Amanda Staveley Finds that Islam Moves Closer to Her Heart
THE TELEGRAPH: Amanda Staveley, the former girlfriend of the Duke of York, talks about falling in love with a Muslim.

Amanda Staveley has helped bring some of the Islamic world's biggest financial investments to this country. The 36-year-old Yorkshirewoman has now received an offer closer to her heart.

"My boyfriend is Muslim," disclosed Staveley, who was once predicted to become the Duke of York's second wife.

The former Businesswoman of the Year said on Friday that she was attracted to the Muslim faith. "I believe in monotheism," she said. "Whether it is Judaism, Islam, Christianity, there are more similarities than there are differences, but I am drawn to Islam."

Staveley did not disclose the name of her boyfriend, but said he had not encouraged her to join his faith. "I don't think he would ask me to convert," she said. >>> Tim Walker. Edited by Richard Eden | Saturday, June 26, 2010


Qataris Target Another Landmark Asset as Their Super-broker Amanda Staveley Pockets £5m
Prime position: the Park House site in Oxford Street. Photo: London Evening Standard
LONDON EVENING STANDARD: The Qatari ruling family are poised to add to their already bulging portfolio of trophy London assets with a bid for a third ownership of the Savoy.

The Qatar Investment Authority, which owns Harrods, the US Embassy Building in Mayfair and Chelsea Barracks, as well as big stakes in Barclays, Sainsbury's and the London Stock Exchange, is understood to be in talks about an offer for the Grosvenor House hotel.

The move comes as Amanda Staveley, deal broker to the Arabs and ex-girlfriend of Prince Andrew, pocketed a multi-million-pound windfall for orchestrating yet another Qatari purchase of a prime West End development site.

The former model advised Qatari property investment company Barwa to buy the Park House site in Oxford Street from Land Securities for
£250 million.

It is thought the deal earned the
37-year-old and her Mayfair advisory firm PCP Capital Partners in the region of £5 million to £7.5 million in fees.

The discussions on the Savoy are said to involve Qatari Diar, the QIA's property investment arm, taking a stake in the Savoy of up to 33 per cent, with the two current joint owners, Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal and HBOS, trimming their holdings. >>> Jonathan Prynn and Hugo Duncan | Thursday, June 17, 2010

Amanda Staveley
Amanda Staveley is a highly successful businesswoman. Born in Doncaster, Staveley was a good childhood athlete in show jumping and sprinting (at 14 years old, Staveley ran 100 metres in 12.6 seconds) but was eventually hindered by an injury to her achilles tendon. Accepted to St Catherine’s College at Cambridge to study modern languages, she supplemented her student grant with work as a model, but dropped out after being hospitalised with stress. Staveley then opened a restaurant, through which she became acquainted with the Maktoums, family of the ruler of Dubai, but built her name as a businesswoman through successful investments in starting companies and trading of stocks. Staveley made £40million in commission driving a deal between Barclays Bank and Gulf sheiks. In 2008, Staveley brokered the takeover of Manchester City FC by the ruling family of Abu Dhabi. [Source: This Is London]