What Sheikh Tahnoon-Linked Capital’s £1.4bn Ivy Deal Says About Liverpool

Liverpool has just been handed another reminder that serious global capital is paying attention.

The reported £1.4bn sale of Richard Caring’s majority stake in the hospitality group behind The Ivy Collection, Annabel’s, Scott’s, and other premium venues has put fresh focus on assets across the UK that sit within that wider platform. The buyer, DIAFA, is described as an affiliate of Abu Dhabi’s IHC Group, which is chaired by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Ravi Thakran is also expected to lead the newly formed entity as chief executive, while Caring remains involved in the next phase.

For Liverpool, the local angle is obvious.

The Ivy Liverpool Brasserie, located at 31 Castle Street, sits inside one of the city’s most recognisable central buildings and officially opened in November 2024. The site was brought forward after change-of-use permission was issued for the Grade I listed former Bank of England building, giving one of Liverpool’s best-known addresses a high-end hospitality operator with national weight behind it.

That matters because this is not just restaurant news.

It is another signal that Liverpool continues to strengthen its position as a city capable of attracting luxury brands, institutional-grade backing, and long-term commercial confidence. When internationally backed buyers are acquiring platforms that include landmark venues in Liverpool, it reinforces the city’s standing as more than a regional story. It becomes part of a wider national and international investment picture.

From our side at Lion Rose, this is the part worth watching closely.

Capital tends to move with purpose. It follows confidence, footfall, brand power, scarcity, and location quality. Liverpool offers all five in the right places. Castle Street is one of those places. Strong architecture, heritage appeal, central positioning and an increasingly polished hospitality and business scene all combine to make assets in and around the core city centre more attractive over time. The Ivy’s arrival in late 2024 was one marker of that trend. This latest ownership story is another.

The wider point is simple.

Liverpool still has room to grow, but it is no longer a secret. Prime city-centre buildings, branded operators, and internationally backed capital all fit into the same pattern. The market will always have noise, but the direction of travel is becoming harder to ignore.

At Lion Rose, we keep a close eye on these shifts because where major capital goes, wider opportunity often follows.

If you are looking at property, development, or investment opportunities in Liverpool, Manchester, or the wider North West, contact Lion Rose and speak with our team.