A right royal battle over a famous Luton name has finally reached a peaceful conclusion.
The name Luton Hoo has links with the royal family, politicians and film stars but behind the scenes the two sets of businesses that own the area of land south of the town have been at loggerheads.
On the one side there is the business known as the Luton Hoo Estate, owned by the blue-blooded Phillips family.
On the other are the owners of the family’s former grand mansion house which was sold to Luton Hoo Park Limited and became a hotel.
The disagreement was over the value of the prestigious name of Luton Hoo and both sides engaged firms of legal specialists to fight their corner.
Trade mark applications were lodged with the government’s Intellectual Property Office for the right to put names on everything from bed and table covers to hair lotions.
But the Luton News understands that a few months ago, the two parties came to an agreement over who could use what names where before it would have had to go to court.
One result of the agreement is that both sets of businesses may become more defensive about the use of the name Luton Hoo.
Graeme Bateman, MD of Elite Hotels, said: “(Elite Hotels Ltd is the hotel company that owns Luton Hoo Hotel, Golf & Spa. Luton Hoo Park Ltd is a subsidiary company of Elite Hotels (Rotherwick) Ltd which has registered the name Luton Hoo as part of its long term strategy.”