London-based luxury hotel owner and operator Dorchester Group Limited, has acquired the Hotel Eden in Rome from Starman (Italy) Sarl. Starman is a joint venture between Lehman Brothers and Starwood Capital and was formed out of the restructuring of Le Meridien Group in 2005. Dorchester Group is owned by the Brunei Investment Agency, a sovereign wealth fund ultimately controlled by the Sultan of Brunei, and owns hotels such as The Dorchester and 45 Park Lane in London, and the Beverly Hills Hotel in California.

Latham & Watkins advised Starman on the sale, with a team led by corporate partner Rod Brown and Rome counsel Luca Pocobelli, assisted by associate Nick Davies and Milan associate Claudio Segna, all from the firm’s Hospitality, Gaming and Leisure practice group.

Brown said the firm has advised Starman on the sale of a number of its hotels. “Hotel Eden is one of Europe’s most luxurious and renowned hotels. The sale is notable because it involves a change of operator from Starwood, which had been operating the hotel under its Le Meridien brand, and it’s relatively rare to see assets of this quality change brands and operator when they are sold.”

“The growing recovery in Europe is narrowing the gap between what buyers are prepared to offer and the price sellers are willing to accept and we expect to see more deals in the sector over the coming months,” he said.