Conran holds on to new project

D&D London, formerly known as Conran Restaurants, has today appointed Goldman Sachs to find a buyer for Conran’s 51 per cent stake in the business, as well as the 20 per cent stake owned by banking group HBOS.

Housed in a Victorian warehouse in east London, the Boundary will contain three restaurants, a café, food shop and 17 bedrooms. It is described as ‘a private project of Terence’s,’ by a Conran Group spokesman.

Due to open in the autumn, the hotel will feature five bedrooms designed by Sanghai Tang founder Sir David Tang, The Conran Shop creative director Polly Dickins, restaurateur Priscilla Carluccio, as well as Terence Conran and his wife Vicky Conran. The Boundary is not included as part of the latest sell off of Conran restaurant interests.

D&D runs 38 cafes, bars and restaurants worldwide, including Quaglinos in London, Le Pont de la Tour in Paris and Guastavino’s on Manhattan’s Upper East Side in New York. It owns 29 per cent of the company.

A report in the Financial Times today indicates that D&D is looking to move into the hotel business. The company could combine with another upmarket restaurant business such as sushi chain Nobu, the sale of which Goldman Sachs is also negotiating.

Concerning its current spat with the Conran Design Group, the Conran Group spokesman reports that it is trying to ‘negotiate amicably’ with Havas, owner of the Conran Design Group, to restrict its use of the Conran name.

Havas, which bought the CDG in the early 1990s, wants to extend the name to its recent acquisition, French design and marketing group Euro RSCG.