Nadhim Zahawi joins UAE-backed fund investing £1bn in Mayfair hotels

Former chancellor Nadhim Zahawi has been appointed a director of a new Middle Eastern-backed investment fund planning to deploy more than £1bn into luxury hospitality projects in London’s Mayfair.

Evolution Investment Fund, launched in 2025 by the UAE-based Shanshal family, has acquired a leasehold interest in the London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square alongside a development site near New Bond Street with full planning consent.

The total capital commitment for the two projects, including development costs, stands at approximately £1.1bn. The fund said the acquisitions represent a “significant vote of confidence in London’s long-term growth prospects”.

Zahawi has joined the UK boards overseeing the acquisition entities.

The 237-room London Marriott Grosvenor Square spans nearly 198,000 sq ft and sits in the heart of Mayfair, surrounded by embassies, private members’ clubs and high-end retail.

The second project, located at Grafton Street and Barlow Place, will comprise a 157,000 sq ft scheme featuring 94 hotel rooms and six luxury residences. Designs by Foster + Partners include plans for a 12-storey tower forming part of what the fund describes as an “ultra-prime hospitality offering”.

The Shanshal family, whose business interests span logistics, telecommunications, automotive retail and construction across the Middle East, said the Mayfair investments reflect long-term confidence in London’s global appeal.

Zahawi co-founded polling company YouGov in 2000 before entering Parliament in 2010 as the Conservative MP for Stratford-upon-Avon. He later served briefly as chancellor under Boris Johnson.

In 2023 he was dismissed as Conservative Party chairman after breaching the ministerial code by failing to disclose that HM Revenue & Customs had been investigating his tax affairs. Earlier this year, Zahawi defected to Reform UK.

He said he was “delighted” to join Evolution at what he described as an exciting stage of its development and would use his experience to support the delivery of world-class hospitality assets.

The appointment underscores continued international appetite for prime London real estate, even as higher interest rates and political uncertainty weigh on parts of the UK property market.

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Nadhim Zahawi joins UAE-backed fund investing £1bn in Mayfair hotels