The Dorchester hotel in Mayfair has won a court order to sell a car belonging to Qatari royal family member Sheikh Nasser bin Abdullah al-Thani after he ran up an unpaid bill of more than £450,000. The five-star hotel sued the sheikh over outstanding room charges and interest, and the County Court at Central London ruled in the Dorchester's favour, also granting permission to sell his limited edition 2011 Fiat 500 Abarth Tributo Ferrari. The case highlights the scale of debts run up by wealthy guests at top hotels and the lengths establishments must go to in order to recover them.

District Judge Michael Javaherian ordered recovery of £198,180 plus £3,266 interest on room charges, and a further £256,627, taking the total owed to £458,000. However, the Fiat 500 is worth only around £23,500, meaning its sale will barely dent the debt, despite the sheikh's social media showing him posing with far more valuable cars including a Porsche-based Mirage GT and a Lamborghini Aventador. Mr al-Thani, a distant cousin of Qatar's ruler with no government role, failed to attend the hearing, and his lawyers claim the proceedings were not properly served and say they will seek to have the judgment set aside. He is also facing a separate European arrest warrant alongside his father and brothers over alleged misappropriation of funds at Malaga FC.