Khalaf Al Habtoor, the chairman of UAE conglomerate Al Habtoor Group, is leading a consortium of Middle Eastern businessmen to buy landmark hotels such as Grosvenor House, Claridges and the Berkeley,  in London, said a report.

The top Dubai-based businessman has earmarked more than £1 billion ($1.7 billion) to build the new “pan-European leisure empire,” reported the Sunday Times.

The report did not name any specific targets, but indicated that the Grosvenor House on Park Lane, as well as the Maybourne Group – which includes Claridges, the Connaught and the Berkeley – might be under consideration.

This Habtoor move comes close on the heels of its acquisition of the 400-room InterContinental Budapest, the largest in the Hungarian city.

Al Habtoor described the Budapest buy as part of its first phase of global expansion that will see the consortium move into several big European cities.