Handed over to investor: Iran's Supreme Leader loses his celebrity hotel in Germany

His connection to the Iranian regime was the downfall of the luxury hotel near Frankfurt. International sanctions made operations impossible and sales difficult. Now an investor can take over.

The former Hilton Hotel in Gravenbruch has a new owner - and is therefore allowed to reopen. The previous ownership structure was the reason why the luxury complex, in which heads of state, Hollywood stars and the German national soccer team had regularly stayed, had to close in the summer and file for bankruptcy. Behind the previous ownership company was the Iranian businessman Ali Ansari, who is reportedly a front man for none other than the spiritual leader of Iran, Moschtaba Khamenei.

Ansari denies this connection. Nevertheless, both the EU and the USA put him on a sanctions list this year that bans European and American companies from working with him. As a result, the Hilton Group, which had operated the hotel since 2024, terminated its contract with the owner. Booking platforms such as Booking.com had already removed the facility from their offerings months earlier. The hotel had to file for bankruptcy. After the EU froze the hotel's accounts in the summer, the insolvency administrator was only able to maintain emergency operations. Bookings were no longer possible.

A buyer who wanted to take over the traditional house and continue running it was found several weeks ago. But international sanctions made the handover more difficult. The Federal Office of Economics and Export Control (BAFA), which is responsible for monitoring economic sanctions in Germany, had to approve the purchase. In particular, the insolvency administrator had to ensure that no money flowed to the former owner. This has now happened. Joachim Kühne, insolvency administrator at the law firm CMS Hasche Sigle, said the company had been handed over to the buyer, the British investment company Comer Group. He did not provide any information about the purchase price.

It is not yet known when the hotel will accept guests again. However, according to previous information from the insolvency administrator, this is possible at short notice. Of the previously around 140 employees, around 90 are said to have remained with the company. The new owner has announced that he will continue operations and hire additional staff. The Comer Group operates several hotels in Great Britain, Ireland and Greece. In Germany, the company currently owns a hotel near Hamburg Airport.

The castle complex in which the previous Hilton Gravenbruch is located looks back on more than 400 years of history. The beginnings of the restaurant and hotel business go back to the 19th century. Starting in the 1970s, the hotel operated as part of the Kempinski Group for almost five decades. Politicians and celebrities such as Bill Clinton, Michael Gorbachev and Arnold Schwarzenegger stayed here. Hilton took over management two years ago.