The FINANCIAL — Legacy Hotels and Resorts and Longrose Buccleuch Management – two of the UK's leading hotel management companies – have joined forces to form a new company.
Branded Hotel Management (BHM) intends to capitalise on the opportunities within the branded hotel market. As Caterer and Hotelkeeper reported, legacy wishes to expand into the branded market, while Longrose Buccleuch, which currently operates hotels under the Doubletree by Hilton, Mercure and Best Western brands, is keen to grow market share.
Longrose Buccleuch currently operates the Mercure Dolphin Hotel, Southampton, the DoubleTree by Hilton Sheffield Park Hotel, and the Best Western Mosborough Hall Hotel, also in Sheffield.
Last year the Derbyshire-based firm won the Accor Hotels UK & Ireland Accor Best Partner Award 2011.
Legacy manages more than 30 three- and four-star privately owned hotels, including a number under its own brand, such as the Legacy Falcon in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, and the Legacy White Hart in Lewes, West Sussex, as well as unbranded properties such the Bear hotel in Hungerford, Berkshire.
BHM has already held discussions with a number of leading international hotel brands and investors, with view to operating new developments, existing properties or conversions.
Andy Townsend, chief executive of Legacy, said that the history and market experience of the two companies made a joint venture the natural choice.
"Over the past seven years Legacy has built a very solid reputation for shrewd and effective management of three- and four-star unbranded hotels across the UK," he said.
"As a result, we have built an infrastructure of both people and support services that enable us to expand our portfolio offering. We firmly believe that we can apply that same ethos successfully to the branded sector with the support and experience of Longrose Buccleuch."
Townsend and Legacy managing director Jim Gordon will sit on the board of BHM, alongside two Longrose Buccleuch directors, Garin Davies and Andrew Rouse.
Davies said: "We feel we are perfectly placed to operate more hotels but needed a greater infrastructure, and that is what Legacy possesses.
"We have spent several months refining our offer to the stakeholders of branded hotels and believe that the timing is spot on for a new, dynamic and fresh approach within the sector."
