This story has been updated to clarify current ownership of the Aman hotel chain.
A tangled relationship of investors got knottier as creditors filed a bankruptcy claim against Aman Hotels & Resorts, a holding company that formerly owned the Aman hotel chain, amounting to US$70.9 million in unpaid fees, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Creditors include investor and venture capitalist Omar Amanat, British hedge-fund manager George Robinson and the company’s founder, hotelier Adrian Zecha. Amanat and Russian real estate mogul Vladislav Doronin had jointly purchased Aman with Zecha in 2014 for US$358 million.
The petition was originally filed on March 4; a second petition was filed on Monday that included Robinson and Zecha, among other creditors.
Separately on Tuesday, in London’s High Court, Doronin settled claims in a dispute between himself and Amanat. As a result, Doronin retains control of Aman and AH Overseas Ltd, a holding company that owns the luxury hotel group; and Doronin’s counterclaims were withdrawn. Amanat’s Peak Hotels & Resorts Limited, which was liquidated, had brought the initial claim against Doronin and agreed to pay court costs to Doronin and a director, totaling £12 million (US$17 million).
“For the record, the action filed in the US Bankruptcy Court has nothing whatsoever to do with the luxury hotel group Aman,” said Doronin, according to a press release.
Aman’s hotels include the Venice property where George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin were married in 2014.