London & Regional Properties

London & Regional Properties Limited, commonly known as L+R, is a British privately held real estate and leisure investment firm headquartered in London. Founded in 1987 by brothers Richard Livingstone and Ian Livingstone, the company developed from a property investment business into a diversified principal-investment group with interests in direct real estate, hotels, leisure, healthcare, care homes, and asset-backed operating businesses. Its investment style has been described as resembling private equity: the group invests its own capital in properties and operating companies, seeks to improve or reposition assets, and holds investments across several sectors rather than concentrating exclusively on conventional office or residential development. L+R has built a broad international footprint. Its interests extend across the United Kingdom, continental Europe, the United States, and Panama. The portfolio has included landmark hotels, limited-service hotel platforms, office properties, healthcare providers, leisure businesses, care homes, and large mixed-use or urban-development projects. Examples associated with the group include London Hilton on Park Lane, The Trafalgar St. James London, The Lensbury, The Empire in Leicester Square, Chewton Glen, Cliveden House, Atlas Hotels, David Lloyd Leisure, General Healthcare Group, and major commercial properties such as 55 Baker Street and Diageo’s London headquarters. Hotels and hospitality have become a particularly important part of the group. Through Iconic Hotels & Resorts, L+R operates a global hotel platform combining owned, invested-in, and managed hospitality assets. The platform includes luxury country-house hotels, city hotels, resorts, and other hospitality businesses operating under multiple brands and management arrangements. The portfolio has included the acquisition of Cliveden from the collapsed von Essen Hotels group and the purchase of a Crowne Plaza hotel in Cambridge from the former Sean Quinn Group. In 2025, Cody Bradshaw was appointed chief executive officer of L+R Hotels, while Joe Pettigrew became group chief commercial officer, with responsibilities spanning commercial performance, sales, marketing, brand, public relations, and digital strategy. The company has also pursued investments beyond hotels. Its reported interests have included Atlas Hotels, a United Kingdom limited-service hotel business; David Lloyd Leisure, a health and fitness club operator; General Healthcare Group, an independent healthcare provider; a German real estate portfolio associated with Atu; care-home assets formerly connected with Southern Cross; and development projects such as a large residential, hotel, and leisure scheme at Greenwich Peninsula and Panama Pacifico, a planned urban development beside the Panama Canal. L+R is controlled by the Livingstone brothers and is known for maintaining a relatively private corporate profile. It is not a publicly listed company, and no stock ticker is associated with the group. Public descriptions characterize it as one of Europe’s largest privately held principal investors. Reported assets under management have been stated as exceeding £9 billion, although the exact figure and measurement date should be treated as source-dependent. The firm’s current identity is therefore that of a family-controlled, internationally active investment house whose principal businesses are real estate ownership, hotel investment and operation, and related leisure and operating-company investments.

London & Regional Properties was established in 1987 by Richard Livingstone, a chartered surveyor, and his brother Ian Livingstone, who had previously worked as an optometrist. The business was created as a property investment firm and remained privately controlled by the Livingstone family. Over time, it expanded beyond straightforward property ownership into a diversified principal-investment model, combining direct real estate acquisitions with investments in companies whose value was supported by physical assets, operating income, or both. The group’s strategy has involved acquiring and holding assets in multiple property categories. Its portfolio has included offices, hotels, care homes, healthcare facilities, leisure venues, and development land. This approach enabled L+R to participate in both the property and operating sides of a business. Rather than presenting itself as a consumer-facing property brand, the company has generally operated as an investment and ownership platform, with individual assets and operating companies retaining their own identities. Hospitality became one of the group’s most prominent areas of activity. L+R accumulated interests in major United Kingdom hotels and developed a wider hotel platform through Iconic Hotels & Resorts. The hospitality portfolio has included luxury properties such as Chewton Glen and Cliveden House, major London hotels, and limited-service hotel operations. The acquisition of Cliveden in 2012 followed the collapse of the von Essen Hotels group. In the same period, L+R acquired a Crowne Plaza hotel in Cambridge from the former Sean Quinn Group. These transactions strengthened the company’s position in the United Kingdom hotel market and added both heritage and branded accommodation to its portfolio. The company’s wider investments have included Atlas Hotels, a United Kingdom limited-service hotel business; David Lloyd Leisure, a health and fitness operator with clubs in the United Kingdom and Europe; and General Healthcare Group, an independent healthcare provider. L+R has also been associated with commercial property including 55 Baker Street, formerly connected with Marks & Spencer’s head-office operations, and Diageo’s London headquarters. Its care-home interests were affected by the 2011 collapse of Southern Cross, after which operating responsibilities for relevant homes were transferred to other care-home providers. L+R has pursued international projects as well. Its interests have included a substantial German real estate portfolio, investments in the United States, and Panama Pacifico, a large planned development on the banks of the Panama Canal combining urban, residential, commercial, and supporting infrastructure elements. In the United Kingdom, the group has been connected with a proposed Greenwich Peninsula development involving apartments together with hotel and leisure facilities. The hotel division received a clearer leadership structure in 2025, when Cody Bradshaw became chief executive officer of L+R Hotels and Joe Pettigrew became group chief commercial officer. Their appointments reflected the increasing scale and international scope of the hospitality business, whose platform brings together multiple brands, assets, and management teams. Public descriptions have characterized Iconic Hotels & Resorts as a global platform with a large multi-country portfolio, although portfolio totals can change as assets are acquired, sold, or reclassified. The Livingstone family remains central to the group’s ownership and identity. L+R is privately held and has maintained a comparatively discreet public profile. It is described as one of Europe’s largest privately held principal investors, with reported assets under management exceeding £9 billion. Because the company is private, detailed financial reporting, ownership percentages, and historical transaction values are not consistently available in public sources. Its present profile is that of an international, family-controlled investment group centered on real estate, hotels, leisure, healthcare, and other operating businesses supported by property assets.

• 2025

  New leadership for hotel platform

  [1]London & Regional Propertiesen.wikipedia.org

  Cody Bradshaw became CEO of L+R Hotels and Joe Pettigrew became Group Chief Commercial Officer.

• 2012

  Cliveden acquired

  [1]London & Regional Propertiesen.wikipedia.org

  L+R acquired Cliveden from the collapsed von Essen Hotels group and withdrew from parallel negotiations for the Royal Crescent hotel.

• 2012

  Cambridge Crowne Plaza acquired

  [1]London & Regional Propertiesen.wikipedia.org

  The group acquired a Crowne Plaza hotel in Cambridge from the former Sean Quinn Group.

• 2011

  Care-home operating arrangements changed after Southern Cross collapse

  [1]London & Regional Propertiesen.wikipedia.org

  Care homes associated with the group were designated for management by Orchard Care Homes in the north and Minster in the South East after Southern Cross ceased operating them.

• 1987

  Company founded

  [1]London & Regional Propertiesen.wikipedia.org

  Richard Livingstone and Ian Livingstone established London & Regional Properties as a privately held property investment business.

A privately held, principal-investment platform focused on real estate, hotels, leisure, healthcare, and other asset-backed operating businesses. L+R combines property ownership with active investment and operational management, with a portfolio spanning the United Kingdom, Europe, and selected international markets.

• Hotel investment and management platform

  Iconic Hotels & Resorts

  L+R’s global hospitality platform, bringing together hotel ownership, investment, and management interests across multiple countries. Its portfolio includes luxury country-house hotels, city properties, resorts, and branded hotels, including assets such as Chewton Glen, Cliveden House, London Hilton on Park Lane, and The Trafalgar St. James London. The platform uses multiple hotel brands and management teams rather than presenting every property under a single consumer brand.

• Limited-service hotels

  Atlas Hotels

  A hotel real estate and operating business associated with L+R, focused on limited-service hotels in the United Kingdom. Atlas Hotels forms part of the group’s strategy of investing in operating businesses supported by property assets and recurring accommodation demand.

• Health and fitness clubs

  David Lloyd Leisure

  A leisure and health-club business with operations in the United Kingdom and Europe. Its association with L+R illustrates the group’s expansion from conventional property investment into consumer-facing operating companies whose sites and facilities are central to their value.

• Private healthcare

  General Healthcare Group

  A United Kingdom independent healthcare provider included among L+R’s operating-company interests. The investment broadens the group’s exposure to healthcare facilities and services alongside its hotel, leisure, office, and residential property activities.

• Mixed-use urban development

  Panama Pacifico

  A large-scale development project on the banks of the Panama Canal. The project is conceived as a mini-city combining residential, commercial, and supporting urban uses, representing L+R’s involvement in development activity outside its core United Kingdom and European markets.

• Residential, hotel, and leisure development

  Greenwich Peninsula development

  A development proposal associated with Greenwich Peninsula involving apartments together with hotel and leisure facilities. It represents the group’s participation in large mixed-use urban projects rather than only completed investment properties.

• 2025

  Strengthening of hotel-platform leadershipStrategy

  Background

  L+R’s hospitality activities had developed into an international platform spanning multiple properties, brands, and management teams.

  Action taken

  The group appointed Cody Bradshaw as CEO of L+R Hotels and Joe Pettigrew as Group Chief Commercial Officer.

  Aftermath

  The appointments placed dedicated executive leadership over hotel operations and commercial functions.

  Source

• 2012

  Acquisition of ClivedenM&A

  Background

  The von Essen Hotels group had collapsed, creating an opportunity to acquire Cliveden, a prominent United Kingdom hotel asset.

  Action taken

  L+R purchased Cliveden and withdrew from parallel negotiations to buy the Royal Crescent hotel.

  Aftermath

  Cliveden became part of L+R’s hospitality portfolio and later its wider hotel platform.

  Source

• 2012

  Acquisition of Cambridge Crowne PlazaM&A

  Background

  The former Sean Quinn Group was divesting hotel assets, including its Crowne Plaza property in Cambridge.

  Action taken

  L+R acquired the Cambridge Crowne Plaza hotel.

  Aftermath

  The transaction expanded L+R’s presence in branded United Kingdom hotels.

  Source

1. 1London & Regional Propertiesen.wikipedia.org