"Little Doha" is the nickname given to an area of

Mayfair Mayfair is an area of Westminster, London, England, in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. It is between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane and one of the most expensive districts ...

in central London that has a high concentration of properties owned by the Al-Thani family, the ruling family of

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

, 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 Doha ( ) is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor (city), Al Khor and Lusail, it is home to most of the country's population. It ...

, the capital of

. The area has also been called a "Qatari quarter" and 'Qataropolis'. The area is located in the north-western part of

. the area is bordered to the west by Hyde Park and

Park Lane Park Lane is a dual carriageway road in the City of Westminster in Central London. It is part of the London Inner Ring Road and runs from Hyde Park Corner in the south to Marble Arch in the north. It separates Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park to ...

and to the north by North Row. Carlos Place, Duke Street and

Grosvenor Square Grosvenor Square ( ) is a large garden square in the Mayfair district of Westminster, Greater London. It is the centrepiece of the Mayfair property of the Duke of Westminster, and takes its name from the duke's surname "Grosvenor". It was deve ...

form an eastern border and the southernmost point is marked by the Dorchester Hotel and South Street.

Properties

Dudley House on

was bought in 2006 by the Bahamian-based company Bristol Isles Ltd for £37 million and restored by Hamad bin Abdullah Al-Thani, a cousin of the Emir of Qatar,

Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani (; born 3 June 1980) is Emir of Qatar, reigning since 2013. Tamim is the fourth son of former emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, born to his second spouse, Moza bint Nasser, Moza bint Nassir. He became heir ...

. By May 2006 Qataris owned £1 billion of property in London and a quarter of the 279 acres of Mayfair. The family bought 79 Mount Street, a 10,000 square foot house in Mount Street in Mayfair for £40 million in May 2015. 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 Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber bin Mohammed bin Thani Al Thani (Arabic: ; born 1959), also known informally by his initials HBJ, is a Qatari politician. He was the Prime Minister of Qatar from 3 April 2007 to 26 June 2013, and foreign minister from ...

. Jaber Al Thani's British business interests are run from 67 Brook Street in Mayfair. The most expensive London mews house ever sold, in Reeve's Mews in Mayfair, was bought by the former deputy prime minister of Qatar, Abdullah bin Hamad Al Attiyah in 2015. 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. It is valued at £180 million. The ''

Evening Standard The ''London Standard'', formerly the ''Evening Standard'' (1904–2024) and originally ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), is a long-established regional newspaper published weekly and distributed free newspaper, free of charge in London, Engl ...

'' newspaper described the early 2010s purchases as an "unprecedented property buying bonanza".

References

{{Reflist 21st century in the City of Westminster Mayfair Qatari monarchy Qatar–United Kingdom relations