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

Mayfair Mayfair is an affluent area in the West End of London towards the eastern edge of Hyde Park, in the City of Westminster, between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane. It is one of the most expensive districts in the world. ...

in central London that has a high concentration of properties owned by the

Al-Thani The House of Thani ( ar, الثاني , translit=Al Thani) is the ruling family of Qatar, with origins tracing back to the Banu Tamim tribal confederation. History and structure The Al Thanis can be traced back to Mudar bin Nizar. The tribe w ...

family, the ruling family of

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

, 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 ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') 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, it is home to most of the coun ...

, 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 Hyde Park may refer to: Places England * Hyde Park, London, a Royal Park in Central London * Hyde Park, Leeds, an inner-city area of north-west Leeds * Hyde Park, Sheffield, district of Sheffield * Hyde Park, in Hyde, Greater Manchester Austra ...

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 to the west from May ...

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 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 developed for fashionable re ...

form an eastern border and the southernmost point is marked by the

Dorchester Hotel The Dorchester is a five-star luxury hotel on Park Lane and Deanery Street in London, to the east of Hyde Park. It is one of the world's most prestigious and expensive hotels. The Dorchester opened on 18 April 1931, and it still retains its ...

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 The Emir, or Amir, of the State of Qatar ( ar, أمیر دولة قطر) is the monarch and head of state of the country. He is also the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces and guarantor of the Constitution. He holds the most powerful positio ...

, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. 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 79 Mount Street is a house in Mount Street, Mayfair, London W1. The house was built in 1892–1894 by Eustace Balfour and Hugh Thackeray Turner of Balfour and Turner, in "Free Style Queen Anne", or in an Arts and Crafts style. It has been ...

, 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 Maybourne Hotel Group is a Qatari-owned British luxury hotel operator, which owns and manages The Berkeley, Claridge's and The Connaught hotels in London. History and Background The Maybourne Hotel Group, formerly The Savoy Hotel Group has been ...

, whose Qatari ultimate beneficial owners are

Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Hamad bin Abdullah bin Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani ( ar, حمد بن خليفة الثاني; born 1 January 1952) is a member of the ruling Al Thani Qatari royal family. He was the ruling Emir of Qatar from 1995 ...

, the former emir of Qatar, and the former prime minister

Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber bin Mohammed bin Thani Al Thani ( ar, حمد بن جاسم بن جبر آل ثاني; born 1959), also known informally by his initials HBJ, is a Qatari politician. He was the Prime Minister of Qatar from 3 April ...

. Jaber Al Thani's British business interests are run from 67 Brook Street in Mayfair. The most expensive London

mews A mews is a row or courtyard of stables and carriage houses with living quarters above them, built behind large city houses before motor vehicles replaced horses in the early twentieth century. Mews are usually located in desirable residential ...

house ever sold, in Reeve's Mews in Mayfair, was bought by the former deputy prime minister of Qatar,

Abdullah bin Hamad Al Attiyah Abdullah bin Hamad Al Attiyah ( ; ar, عبدالله بن حمد العطية, born 1952) is the former deputy prime minister of Qatar and the head of the Emir's court. From September 1992 to January 2011, Attiyah was Qatar's Minister of Energy ...

in 2015. In 1997 Lombard House on Curzon Street was bought by the deputy prime minister of Qatar, Mohammed Bin Khalifa Bin Hamad Al-Thani for £17 million. It is valued at £180 million. The ''

Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

'' 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