How Winston Churchill's office became the ballast for the Hinduja empire’s first foray into luxury hospitality

Is it possible to know what anyone’s real assets are?” asks rich-list perennial Gopichand Hinduja. GP, as he is widely known, occupies the top spot on this year’s UK’s Sunday Times compilation of the wealthiest. The chairman of the multi-billion-pound global business brand, however, thinks precious little of his spot on the rich list. Equally perfunctory is his relationship with luxury, and the deployment of it. “Luxury means waste of money. What you can do without wasting money is the right thing to do,” he says.

In the resplendent Gold Room of a Grade I heritage Carlton House Terrace family mansion, located at London’s SW1, a pin code shared by Buckingham Palace and 10 Downing Street, GP, 83, is flanked by his younger siblings, Monaco-based Prakash (PP), 78, and Mumbai-based Ashok (AP), 73.

Here, in this former boyhood residence of King George IV, bought for $100-150 million in 2006, GP makes a case against wastefulness. He cites the example of PP who had to make a speedy London-Monaco roundtrip the previous day.


“We told him to go in the private jet, but he didn’t. He took a commercial flight and came back in a commercial flight. That is what it means to avoid luxury,” he says.

And yet, reigning uppermost on GP’s mind is a revamped monument to affluence. The Hindujas’ first foray in the rarefied world of super-luxe hospitality is the newly-opened Old War Office (OWO) as a Raffles hotel in London’s Whitehall. A one-night stay at the Churchill Suite here comes for an eye-watering 25,000 pounds, which is about Rs 25.8 lakh.

The old makes way for the new
“In the past, we have purely been investors in hotels,” says Sanjay Hinduja, 59, oldest son of GP, mentioning their involvement in Mumbai’s JW Marriott. “This is the first time that we are the developers.”

The conglomerate’s business interests across 48 countries encompass healthcare, defence, media and financial services among others.

With the Raffles London at The OWO, the Hindujas have launched right into London’s uber-luxury hospitality trend catering to the world’s wealthiest. In doing so, the imperial property faces off against such high-end worthies as The Peninsula London and the Mandarin Oriental Mayfair, each outdoing the other not just in location and stratospheric pricing, but also an arsenal of lavish experiences.

Sanjay believes that four words speeded the family’s decision to step into luxe hospitality development: London, iconic, trophy, heritage.

“We were the last to the party,” he says with a laugh, recounting how the patriarchs’ walk in the nearby St James’s Park led to a chance discovery and a swift but considered decision to make a bid for the OWO.

In a bidding war, hotly fought with at least three other serious contenders, the Hindujas emerged victorious, paying 374 million pounds for the Edwardian property. In part, it helped that the Hindujas had the “experience of living in and maintaining a Grade I heritage structure,” says Shalini Hinduja, wife of GP’s younger son Dheeraj.

Shalini, who has served as an advisor to Aston Martin and is a member with Sotheby’s International Council, oversaw the restoration of the OWO along with Sanjay.

The Hindujas’ conquest of the OWO (the family calls it o-woe) could possibly set off other luxury expeditions, specifically in India. According to a report by Bain & Co, the Indian luxury market is expected to grow 3.5 times of its current size to reach $85 billion-$90 billion by 2030.

Are there plans to reconnaissance the luxury end of the Indian consumer segment? “To be honest, this project has just ended. A lot of work still needs to be done here. But if something luxurious, iconic and heritage comes up, whether in India or France or wherever, we will look at it. It has to be something different, something unique, and not just a run-ofthe mill hotel,” says Sanjay.

“It cannot be something normal,” concurs AP. GP is already looking ahead: “When a good opportunity comes and if we get a good partner, we will go ahead.”

Continuation of legacy
The 1.3-billion-pound Raffles London at The OWO opened on September 26. Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli sang at the inauguration by Princess Anne, and Andrew Lloyd Webber played the piano while the UK’s who’s who were in attendance (UK PM Rishi Sunak, steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal, Princess Beatrice — get the picture?). Though the Hindujas don’t quite see it the same way, their takeover signifies a change of empire: One brand with a global footprint making way for another.

“The OWO is my greatest legacy to London,” says GP.

Legacy is an overarching theme for the brothers, with the business precepts of their father, Parmanand Hinduja, being the lodestone.

“Our brand is the principles and values of our father,” says G P. He expounds the fundamentals — “word is a bond; act local, think global; partnership for growth; advance fearlessly and work together.” He holds fast to the conviction that “the same legacy will continue” and the formidable image of the ‘Hinduja Brothers’ will endure, despite the demise of the eldest, Srichand Hinduja (SP), 87, in May this year.


The image of the ‘Fab Four’ — the brothers were often called that for their unassailable portrayal of sibling unity — came under a cloud in 2015. SP had challenged the legality of a 2014 agreement that outlined ‘everything belongs to everyone and nothing belongs to anyone’, essentially the notion that each of them is the equal owner of all assets. The discord played out in the London High Court.

Looking back, GP describes the time as emotionally “hurting”, while AP says, “We don’t blame anybody.” In 2022, the family reached a confidential settlement, effectively sealing queries on the issue of equal ownership. That fortress is momentarily breached when GP says, “The way things are moving in the family, that is the best way.”

The drawbridge lowered ever so slightly, AP acknowledges the inevitability of change in times ahead, “When the family grows bigger, some of the children may have a different thinking. But we all have to get together to see how we can bring them back on the right track,” he says, adding, “We believe in planets. When the wrong planets come, certain things happen. [When the] Right time will come, things will get corrected.” PP takes the long view that “family issues are all over the world…and nobody has found a solution” to them.

Of greater concern to him, is the projection of the Hinduja brand itself. “If you see the public perception in India, many don’t know who Gulf Oil and Ashok Leyland belong to. So, the Hinduja brand is not yet properly projected in India. The flagship needs to be properly showcased,” he says, “so that the strength of the Hindujas is known.”

As for the Raffles London at The OWO, even after the artillery of fanfare promoting it, the brothers say they are yet to check in for an overnight stay.

Though GP’s personal favourite is the Churchill Suite, he says he “prefers staying at home”. After a brief pause, he adds ever so lightly, “I wonder who would pay 25,000 pounds for a night.”

The answer, clearly, lies with those who do not subscribe to his personal take on luxury. They are the ones who have ensured that for most of December, the Churchill Suite has been booked out