New Delhi: Billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd has acquired Britain’s first County Club Stoke Park from the International Group (IG), owned by the King family, a second-generation UK family business, for $79 Million.
This acquisition adds to Reliance’s current stake in Oberoi hotels and hotel/managed residences in Mumbai.
Over the years Reliance has announced around USD 3.3 billion in acquisitions with 14 per cent in retail, 80 per cent in technology, media, and telecom (TMT) sector, and 6 per cent in energy.
“Reliance Industrial Investments and Holdings Ltd (RIIHL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited, has on April 22, 2021, acquired the entire issued share capital of Stoke Park Limited, a company incorporated in the United Kingdom, for 57 million pounds,” it said.
“RIIHL will look to enhance the sports and leisure facilities at this heritage site, while fully complying with the planning guidelines and local regulations,” Reliance said.
Stoke Park has always had a close relationship to Pinewood Studios and the British film industry. Two James Bond movies — Goldfinger (1964) and Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) were filmed at Stoke Park. The epic duel between James Bond (Sean Connery) and Goldfinger (Gert Frobe) is still considered to be the most famous game of golf in cinematic history, the Park stated on its website.