U2 singer Bono has been dragged into a bizarre courtroom wrangle over the sale of London’s luxury Savoy hotel.

A High Court case in London brought by the businessman Patrick McKillen has heard of Bono’s presence at a meeting abroad a luxury yacht in the South of France.

Bono was invited to meet with a Saudi prince by his long-time friend McKillen and his business associate Derek Quinlan in 2004.

Quinlan, now in dispute with McKillen over the hotel, told the court that he had suggested that Bono be brought to the meeting, designed to close a deal for the purchase of the hotel by the Saudi prince.

McKillen is alleging in the court case that he was improperly barred from taking control of three other London hotels.

Quinlan told the court that a member of the Saudi royal family, Prince Al-Waleed, had agreed in 2004 to pay over $300million for the Savoy, one of four hotels bought by a Quinlan-led group of investors.

The Irish Times reports that by August of that year there was ‘still a dispute’ about the deposit to be paid. Quinlan said he was invited to the yacht to ‘finalise the deal’.

He told the court: “I asked Mr McKillen if he wanted to come; he agreed and I suggested that Mr McKillen’s very close friend of 20 years, the singer Bono from the band U2, should join us.”

The U2 singer, part-owner of a yacht along with McKillen and The Edge, happened to be in the south of France at the time.

“I recall that I sat beside Prince A1-Waleed and Bono sat next to me. Mr McKillen, on the other hand, sat at the other end of the yacht and made no contribution to the discussion,” said Quinlan.

The case continues.