Tucked into the rolling countryside of Buckinghamshire, just seven miles from Heathrow Airport, lies one of England’s most historical estates. Stoke Park – a 300-acre Georgian mansion, championship golf course, and luxury country club – was acquired in April 2021 by Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries for £57 million (approximately Rs 592 crore), as per a stock exchange filing by the company.
The purchase made global headlines, not just for its price tag, but for the weight of the past it carried. The estate’s rolling golf course had been famous since James Bond played a game with Auric Goldfinger there in the 1964 blockbuster film. For Ambani, it was a statement acquisition – one that signalled Reliance’s deliberate pivot from an oil-refining giant into a global consumer and hospitality brand.
A 1,000-year-old estate with royal roots
The Stoke Park estate’s history dates back to the time of the Domesday Book of 1086. The grand mansion at its heart was designed by James Wyatt – architect to King George III – with construction beginning in 1790 and completing in 1813. (Note: an earlier building on the site dates to 1788, and the project was initially started by architect Robert Nasmith before Wyatt took over.)
Set amid 300 acres of lakes and gardens shaped by legendary landscapers Capability Brown and Humphry Repton, it has passed through aristocratic hands with ties to Queen Elizabeth I’s era, the Penn family (whose patriarch William Penn founded Pennsylvania), and figures like Sir Edward Coke, who prosecuted Sir Walter Raleigh and the Gunpowder Plot conspirators.
In 1908, Nicholas Lane Jackson transformed it into one of Britain’s first country clubs. Its first president was Prince Albert of Schleswig-Holstein. The 27-hole championship golf course, designed by Harry Colt – the architect behind Pine Valley, Wentworth, Sunningdale, and Royal Portrush – opened in July 1909 and remains one of England’s top parkland layouts.
Hollywood has long loved the place. Iconic scenes from Goldfinger (1964) and Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) were filmed on the course and in the mansion, alongside Bridget Jones’s Diary, Layer Cake, and others. Every summer it hosts the Boodles Tennis Championships – an exclusive pre-Wimbledon exhibition that draws top players and society crowds.
Ambani’s vision: World-class, yet true to heritage
The acquisition of Stoke Park is part of a wider move to transform Reliance from an industrial group centred on oil refining in Asia to a more consumer-facing business with a global presence. For the Ambanis, this sits alongside other prestige buys – from the Hamleys toy store chain (acquired in 2019) to a stake in Oberoi Hotels in India.
Following the acquisition, Reliance undertook a comprehensive restoration of the estate. According to reports in Golf News and Boutique Hotelier, renovation works began in 2021 and covered the hotel, health club, and the 27-hole golf course.
Indian luxury hospitality group Oberoi Hotels and Resorts also partnered with Reliance Industries in 2023 to revamp the property, with a shared vision to make the resort a world-class destination while protecting and enhancing its heritage.
The estate is now open for events, visitor golf, golf days, weddings, private hire, filming, business meetings, and event stays following the renovation’s first phase. The property’s 49 rooms and suites – some with marble bathrooms and oak four-poster beds – are being restored to offer guests a taste of English aristocratic life, reimagined for the 21st century.
