Livingstone brothers' property empire hits £3.7bn after hotels boost

The billionaire real-estate moguls Ian and Richard Livingstone have seen the value of their property empire hit £3.7 billion after a decision to check into more hotels paid off, it emerged on Friday.

The publicity-shy brothers, who have an estimated fortune of £3.8 billion, went on a spending spree in 2016 and 2017. They snapped up the luxury Grayshott Health Spa in Surrey, as well as 47 Holiday Inn Express sites.

Accounts just filed by Loopsign, the parent of their London & Regional property development business, credit “continued expansion into hotel operations” for helping to boost revenues in the year to September 2017.

It saw turnover jump 55.6% to £540 million, and the value of the portfolio rose to £3.7 billion from £3.4 billion.

Pre-tax profit shrank to £49 million from £280 million, but that was due to much smaller rises in property values than in previous years.

In the current financial year so far, Marylebone-headquartered London & Regional has been selected as a partner to help regenerate Albert Island in the Royal Docks area. It also sold Thames Wharf Studios, home to the River Café, for around £40 million.