The Art of The Deal: The Hotel Owner, The Billionaire and The Bluff

It’s true, information is power. But what you do with it is far more important.

And so it happened that one day, not too long ago, I had an epiphany. I was walking down a street in Mayfair holding a Perrier bottle in one hand, a briefcase in the other and a folded City A.M. newspaper under my right arm. I arrived at a street crossing and joined other pedestrians waiting to traverse the street.

As I waited for a signal change, I briefly looked at the people around me and then lifted my gaze to meet one of the most beautiful real estate assets in the world. A magnificent 5-Star hotel steeped in history. I must sell this building.

Creating a market

Who could I sell this to? I didn’t have a buyer in mind. Clearly, it would have to be someone for whom money was no object. Someone who was more interested in the prestige element of having a trophy asset. Someone who wanted more than anything to point and say “I own this”.

What about the hotel owner? Was his hotel for sale? Luckily, I knew that almost anything is for sale. For the right price.

Neither the hotel owner nor the billionaire investor knew what was coming. I told the owner, “Someone would like to buy your hotel”, and the billionaire, “There is a hotel for sale.” And both were told, “This is a unique opportunity”.

See the video.

Takeaway

How to orchestrate a £500 million deal.

1) Approach the owner of an amazing 5-star hotel and tell them you have an investor who wants to pay a lot of money for it.

2) Approach a Saudi billionaire and tell them one of the most beautiful hotels is on sale and that owning it will be a great source of prestige.

3) Introduce the two.

4) Take your cut!

Related Posts:

So Close to Landing A Job, Yet So Far Earth To ibanker, Come Back To Reality From Zero To Hero: One Man’s Story Of Selling Something He Didn’t Own And Becoming Rich In The Process