Little Doha
"Little Doha" is the nickname given to an area of Mayfair in central London that has a high concentration of properties owned by the Al-Thani family, the ruling family of Qatar, and their relatives and associates. By 2006, Qatari interests owned £1 billion of property in London, and a quarter of Mayfair's 279 acres. As well as housing and commercial property, they own two of the area's most well-known luxury hotels, The Connaught and Claridge's.
Nomenclature and location
The nickname derives from Doha, the capital of Qatar.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/ng-interactive/2022/nov/05/how-qatar-bought-up-britain|title=How Qatar bought up Britain|date=5 November 2022|work=The Guardian|accessdate=16 November 2022}} The area has also been called a "Qatari quarter" and 'Qataropolis'. The area is located in the north-western part of Mayfair.{{cite news|url=https://www.ft.com/content/826ec146-45c6-11e5-af2f-4d6e0e5eda22|title=Foreign investors seek new London property sites|author=Sarah Townsend|date=16 September 2016|work=Financial Times|accessdate=16 November 2022}} the area is bordered to the west by Hyde Park and Park Lane and to the north by North Row. Carlos Place, Duke Street and Grosvenor Square form an eastern border and the southernmost point is marked by the Dorchester Hotel and South Street.
Properties
File:Dudley House, Londres.jpg
File:Lombard House, Mayfair, October 2022 02.jpg
Dudley House on Park Lane was bought in 2006 by the Bahamian-based company Bristol Isles Ltd for £37 million{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/global/2013/jun/25/qatar-12-things-you-need-to-know|title=Qatar: 12 things you need to know|first=Leo|last=Benedictus|work=The Guardian|date=25 June 2013|access-date=31 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151001002608/http://www.theguardian.com/global/2013/jun/25/qatar-12-things-you-need-to-know|archive-date=1 October 2015|url-status=live}} and restored by Hamad bin Abdullah Al-Thani, a cousin of the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.{{cite news|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2015/01/dudley-house-london|title=Sheikh Shack|date=February 2015|work=Vanity Fair|accessdate=16 November 2022}} By May 2006 Qataris owned £1 billion of property in London and a quarter of the 279 acres of Mayfair.{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/london-property-qatari-investors-now-own-ps1bn-in-mayfair-real-estate-a6961151.html|title=London property crisis: Qatari investors now own £1bn in Mayfair real estate|author=Zlata Rodionova|date=31 March 2006|work=The Independent|accessdate=16 November 2022}}
The family bought 79 Mount Street, a 10,000 square foot house in Mount Street in Mayfair for £40 million in May 2015.{{cite news|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/qatari-rulers-buy-ps40m-six-storey-mansion-in-mayfair-10258054.html|title=Qataris buy £40m six storey Mayfair mansion|author=Jonathan Prynn|date=18 May 2015|work=Evening Standard|accessdate=16 November 2022}} The former embassy of Brazil at 32 Green Street, was bought in 2011. Other Mayfair purchases include a house on Davies Street for £12 million and a house on Park Street for £13 million. The Connaught and Claridge's hotels in Mayfair are owned by the Maybourne Hotel Group, whose Qatari ultimate beneficial owners are Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, the former emir of Qatar, and the former prime minister Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/oct/10/the-billion-pound-battle-over-claridges-hotel-from-belfast-to-qatar|title=The billion-pound battle over Claridge's hotel from Belfast to Qatar|date=10 October 2022|work=The Guardian|accessdate=16 November 2022}} Jaber Al Thani's British business interests are run from 67 Brook Street in Mayfair.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2022/nov/15/sheikh-world-cup-qatar-uk-links-decades-hamad-bin-jassim-bin-jaber-al-thani|title=Sheikh who secured World Cup for Qatar has UK links going back decades|author=Rob Davies|date=15 November 2022|work=The Guardian|accessdate=16 November 2022}} The most expensive London mews house ever sold, in Reeves Mews in Mayfair, was bought by the former deputy prime minister of Qatar, Abdullah bin Hamad Al Attiyah in 2015.{{cite news|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/world-s-most-expensive-mews-house-former-garage-in-mayfair-sold-to-qatari-for-ps24m-a2925496.html|title=World's most expensive mews house: former garage in Mayfair sold to Qatari for £24m|author=Jonathan Prynn|date=2 September 2015|work=Evening Standard|accessdate=16 November 2022}} In 1997 Lombard House (formerly Sunderland House) on Curzon Street was bought by the deputy prime minister of Qatar, Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Thani for £17 million.{{cite news|last1=Leppard|first1=David|title='Designer 'paid Pounds 2m bribe' for contract'|url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A92553652/AONE?u=wikipedia&sid=ebsco&xid=8898d5b5|accessdate=15 November 2022|work=The Times|date=6 October 2002|page=9}} It is valued at £180 million.
The Evening Standard newspaper described the early 2010s purchases as an "unprecedented property buying bonanza".