Maybourne Group: Regis Maybourne takes full ownership of the operating company, hotel ownership remains unchanged

Six of the most expensive addresses in London and the French Riviera have just exited a joint venture, with none changing hands. On 9 July 2026, Regis Maybourne and Constellation Hotels ended the structure they jointly owned: Regis Maybourne becomes the sole owner of Maybourne, the company that operates the hotels, while the ownership of the underlying assets remains unchanged on both sides. Guests at Claridge’s or The Connaught will see no difference, at least for as long as the management agreement keeping the portfolio under a single operator remains in place.

What changes, and what doesn’t

The group’s co-owners, Regis Maybourne (UK) Ltd and Selene SARL, a subsidiary of Constellation Hotels Holding Limited, formalised a new ownership and management framework through an agreement that came into effect on 9 July. Regis Maybourne (UK) Ltd becomes the sole owner of Maybourne, the group’s operating company. It also continues to own Claridge’s in Mayfair, The Maybourne Riviera, perched above Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, and The Maybourne Beverly Hills in California.

For its part, Constellation Hotels Holding Limited continues to own a premier London portfolio: The Connaught, The Berkeley and The Emory, as well as future developments outside the UK, including the Saint Germain project in Paris and an announced property in Marrakech. None of these hotels have changed ownership: the agreement ends a joint ownership at the company level, not the ownership of the assets, which remains as it was.

Two executives, two paths

The end of the joint venture comes with a clarification at the top of both entities. Marc Socker remains chief executive of Maybourne, ensuring operational continuity across the group’s addresses. Gianluca Muzzi steps down as co-chief executive of Maybourne to lead Constellation Hotels, whose portfolio he will now run in his own right.

The move is consistent with the new distribution: each executive now heads the portfolio he will be judged on, without the standing compromise the joint venture required.

Management remains unified, for an agreed period

While a new ownership framework has been established at the company level, day-to-day operations remain unchanged: management agreements entrust Maybourne with the operational running of all properties. The key nuance lies in four words: this arrangement is “for an agreed period”. In other words, an operational separation could occur tomorrow, at a date that the parties have not made public.

On the management side, Marc Socker remains CEO of Maybourne, supported by José Silva as Chairman. Gianluca Muzzi, previously co-CEO of the group, is stepping down from this role to head Constellation Hotels. The move makes it quite clear who will now lead each camp.

Our take: a clarification, not a rupture

A two-headed joint venture always ends up stumbling over investment trade-offs: how much to reinvest in an asset, over what timeframe, and for what return. By dissolving their joint ownership, each shareholder regains the freedom to set their own timeline for the assets they already owned. Constellation Hotels retains The Connaught, The Berkeley and The Emory, and funds expansion into Paris and Marrakech; Regis Maybourne retains Claridge’s, The Maybourne Riviera and The Maybourne Beverly Hills, and takes control of the operating company.

For travellers, nothing changes today, and that is precisely what the management agreement seeks to guarantee. The real test will come when this agreement expires: that is when we will know whether Claridge’s and The Connaught, united under the same banner for decades, will continue to share management, reservations and a service culture. It is a development worth watching closely, as is every time a major name in hospitality sees a change in its shareholding.

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