IHC acquires stake in hospitality portfolio of Richard Caring

Diafa buys into UK’s trophy hospitality names: IHC’s luxury hospitality vehicle Al Diafa Investment Company acquired a majority stake in the portfolio of British restaurateur Richard Caring’s — also known as “the King of Mayfair” — which includes high-end F&B and leisure assets, in what it says was a “ten-figure transaction,” Bloomberg reports. This comes one year after IHC was reportedly first circling the asset.

IN CONTEXT- The move is the latest in a series of evidence showing that Gulf investors continue to deploy capital abroad despite geopolitical overhangs, with names like QIA, Mubadala, and ADIA remaining active across markets, signaling that outbound dealflow is holding even as risk premiums rise.

What’s in the box? The acquisition, said to be valued at north of GBP 1 bn, hands Diafa control over a tightly held cluster of London trophy assets, including the Ivy Brasseries collection, Caprice Holdings, and the Birley Clubs — which is co-owned by Qatari royal Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani.

A play to roll up top brands: The move plugs into Diafa’s existing global F&B portfolio that includes stakes in UK-based Azumi Group, as well as the US-based h.wood Group, which runs venues such as Delilah, The Nice Guy, and Bird Streets Club.

What’s next: Richard Caring, who took chips off the table to secure firepower for international rollout, will stay on as executive chairman, partnering with Diafa — led by former LVMH Asia chairman Ravi Thakran — to steer the group’s global push, the Financial Times reports. The pipeline already includes Annabel’s opening in New York, with Scott’s, Sexy Fish, and Noema lined up for further global expansion.

So far, 2026 has been marked by significant restructuring and M&A expansion for IHC. Its revenues came in at AED 111.4 bn 2025, and the firm quickly moved to centralize AED 870 bn of its assets under Judan Financial in February after it had merged three subsidiaries at the end of last year to form an AED 120 bn powerhouse. More recently, it snapped up a 41.5% controlling stake in Mumbai-listed mortgage lender Sammaan Capital and acquired a 50.1% stake in OpenAI investor Alpha Wave through Judan.