The recession appears to hold little fear for Derek Quinlan, the Irish property mogul behind swanky London hotels such as Claridge’s, the Berkeley and the Connaught.

Mr Quinlan, a former tax inspector who controls Maybourne Hotel Group, has hired Lazard, the investment bank, to advise him on ways to expand his five-star hotel management empire overseas.

As well as seeking potential backers to inject cash into Maybourne, Mr Quinlan may also look at a £1 billion float for the company, a route that only the steely hearted have chosen for more than a year. It is understood that, as part of the process, which is at an early stage, Maybourne would want to open venues in Dubai, Paris, New York and, possibly, Moscow. The company would brand the hotels under the Maybourne name and third-party investors could include sovereign wealth funds.

If successful, Mr Quinlan’s audacious expansion plans would mark a business step-change for a man who began his career as an accountant with Coopers & Lybrand, now part of PricewaterhouseCoopers, and also worked with the Irish Revenue Commissioners.

Maybourne, one of the world’s best-known hotel brands, has been in and out of the spotlight in recent months amid persistent speculation that buyers have been lining up to table bids for assets, the Berkeley in particular. Giorgio Armani, the Italian fashion designer, was reported to have approached Maybourne to buy the Berkeley, although this was denied.

Maybourne owns a building next door to the Berkeley and has hired Lord Foster of Thames Bank, the architect, to design a new wing for its high-end Knightsbridge hotel.

Maybourne is only one part of Mr Quinlan’s wide-reaching property interests, which are operated by Quinlan Private, his private investment vehicle. Mr Quinlan has used it in a string of property joint ventures, not least the €1.9 billion acquisition of the worldwide headquarters of Banco Santander in Madrid. Completed this year, it was one of the largest acquisitions of its type in Europe.

Mr Quinlan was also involved in the €200 million purchase in 2006 of Bank of Ireland’s headquarters in Dublin. Quinlan Private owns the Jurys Inns hotel chain, which it bought for just over £1.1 billion last year, as well as the 47-strong portfolio of Marriott Hotels across Britain.

Lazard declined to comment and Maybourne did not return calls.