London's Grosvenor House hotel bought by Indian firm

The hotel opened its doors in 1929

London's iconic Grosvenor House hotel has been bought from the Royal Bank of Scotland by an Indian business group.

Sahara India, which acquired the Mayfair hotel for £470m, plans to add restaurants and a nightclub.

The hotel in Park Lane, currently run by Marriott International, would be jointly managed by Sahara and Marriott, Sahara India said.

The hotel, which has 420 rooms, 74 suites and 27 conference rooms, overlooks Hyde Park.

The site where the hotel stands now was the London home of King George III's brother, the Duke of Gloucester, before it was bought by Robert Grosvenor, the first Marquess of Westminster, in 1806.

The family, which still owns much of Mayfair and Belgravia, gave the lease of the site to Albert Octavius Edwards, who built the luxury hotel.

Since the hotel opened its doors in 1929 its rooms and famous banquet hall - the Great Room - have housed royalty, politicians and celebrities including actor Orson Welles.

Subrata Roy Sahara, chairman of the Sahara Group, said the hotel was a part of the group's "major expansion plans".

"In addition to the acquisition of Grosvenor House, London will be the gateway for Sahara to introduce some of its new business ventures, internationally," he added.

The company owns businesses in several sectors including tourism, real estate, media and sports.