The luxury Savoy Group of hotels is being bought up by a consortium of Irish investors for £750 million.

The buyers are led by Quinlan Private, an investment company and the deal is expected to complete on May 8.

The Savoy group has 772 guest rooms which means each one has cost its Irish buyers over £971,000.

But the deal is a welcome out for Colony Capital and Blackstone. The US-based funds bought the hotel group six years ago and have been seeking to sell for some time.

According to press reports, the previous owners had tried to sell just Claridges but once the bidding process began, interest in the other hotels in the chain - the Berkeley, the Connaught and the Savoy - spiralled.

Saudi, Spanish and Syrian bidders are all thought to have expressed interest before the Irish were named as the successful party.

They have vowed to maintain the individuality of the three hotels. "Our investment will respect the iconic status of the group," said Quinlan Private’s chairman Derek Quinlan.