DEREK QUINLAN, the property tycoon behind some of London’s top hotels including Claridge’s and the Berkeley, has hired investment bankers to find new investors to bankroll an international expansion of the five-star group.

Quinlan retained Lazard, the investment bank, this week to sound out potential backers who would be willing to inject cash into his Maybourne Hotel Group. The company, whose other property is the Connaught, would use the funds to launch new hotels in key “gateway cities” such as Dubai, Paris and New York under the Maybourne name.

Another option would be a public flotation, which would probably value the group at about £1 billion. It is understood this option is less likely.

The process is at a very early stage and no timeline has been set. The company, which is run by veteran hotelier Stephen Alden, has, however, already made plans for expansion beyond Britain. Maybourne declined to comment.

It is thought that Quinlan, a former tax inspector who worked for the Irish Revenue Commissioners, was spurred into action after receiving an unsolicited approach from an investor interested in buying the Berkeley hotel, rumoured to have been fashion billionaire Giorgio Armani. Maybourne owns a large property next to the Berkeley and has hired the prominent architect Lord Foster to design a new wing for the premises.

Quinlan bought the company, then called the Savoy Group, in 2004 for £750m. He has since sold the Savoy for £230m and poured millions into the three remaining properties. Lazard is expected to conduct a thorough review of the company’s options, including cash injections from sovereign wealth funds.

Maybourne is controlled by a parent company called Coroin, which is owned by investors who, besides Quinlan, include Moya Doherty and John McColgan, the promoters of Riverdance, the Irish step-dancing show, Kyran McLaughlin, chairman of the Elan pharmaceuticals group, and property investor Patrick McKillen.

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