"Little Doha" is the nickname given to an area ofMayfair in central London that has a high concentration of properties owned by theAl-Thani family, the ruling family ofQatar, 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 andClaridge's.
The nickname derives fromDoha, the capital ofQatar.[1] The area has also been called a "Qatari quarter" and 'Qataropolis'.[2] The area is located in the north-western part ofMayfair.[2][3][4] the area is bordered to the west byHyde Park andPark Lane and to the north by North Row. Carlos Place, Duke Street andGrosvenor Square form an eastern border and the southernmost point is marked by theDorchester Hotel and South Street.[3]
Dudley House onPark Lane was bought in 2006 by the Bahamian-based company Bristol Isles Ltd for £37 million[5] and restored by Hamad bin Abdullah Al-Thani, a cousin of theEmir of Qatar,Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.[1][6] By May 2006 Qataris owned £1 billion of property in London and a quarter of the 279 acres of Mayfair.[3]
The family bought79 Mount Street, a 10,000 square foot house inMount Street in Mayfair for £40 million in May 2015.[7] The former embassy of Brazil at 32Green 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.[2] TheConnaught andClaridge's hotels in Mayfair are owned by theMaybourne Hotel Group, whose Qatari ultimate beneficial owners areHamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, the former emir of Qatar, and the former prime ministerHamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani.[8] Jaber Al Thani's British business interests are run from 67 Brook Street in Mayfair.[9] The most expensive Londonmews 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.[2] In 1997 Lombard House on Curzon Street was bought by the deputy prime minister of Qatar,Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Thani for £17 million.[10] It is valued at £180 million.[3]
TheEvening Standard newspaper described the early 2010s purchases as an "unprecedented property buying bonanza".[2]