Richard Caring in talks to sell stake in The Ivy restaurant empire to Abu Dhabi's Sheik Tahnoun

From Yahoo Finance: 2025-05-16 03:00:00

Sheik Tahnoun’s International Holding Company is the most valuable firm listed on Abu Dhabi’s stock exchange. Richard Caring, the hospitality tycoon, is in advanced talks to sell a stake in his Ivy restaurant empire to Sheik Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan for around £1bn, as reported by the Financial Times. Negotiations include other clubs and restaurants owned by Mr Caring.

The Ivy restaurant chain has over 40 sites. Mr Caring has been seeking to sell a stake in The Ivy for almost a year. A deal with Sheik Tahnoun’s International Holding Company would be a high-profile transaction. Sheik Tahnoun is a key figure in Abu Dhabi’s royal family and is known as the “spy sheikh”.

The Abu Dhabi royal, Sheik Tahnoun, has been hosted by Donald Trump at the White House and has had recent meetings with Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos. He also heads the UAE’s state-owned AI investment fund and G42, the Emirati rival to ChatGPT-maker OpenAI. Richard Caring bought the original Ivy restaurant in 2005 and expanded it into a restaurant chain in 2014, with over 40 locations in the UK and Ireland.

Read more: Richard Caring in talks to sell stake in The Ivy to Abu Dhabi’s ‘spy sheikh’