Grand Metropolitan Hotels
1934 M.R.M.A. was incorporated as a private company to run the Mount Royal Hotel in London[1]
1957 Max Joseph purchased the Mount Royal Hotel at Marble Arch, London for £1 million. Formed Grand Hotels (Mayfair) Ltd with associates.
1959 Name of the Mount Royal was changed to Mount Royal Ltd
1961 Public company incorporated
1962 Acquired Grand Hotels (Mayfair) Ltd. The name of the group was changed to Grand Metropolitan Hotels Ltd when chairman Maxwell Joseph decided the group had much wider interests and there was scope for further expansion[2].
1967 Announced plans to build new hotels in Britain and on the Continents; also moved into the industrial catering business with a deal with Bateman Catering[3]
1969 Acquired Express Dairies
1970 Owned 50 hotels and 110 Chef and Brewer pub restaurants; acquired Berni Inns and Mecca[4]
1972 Acquired Watney Mann
Mid 70s: the group had become so diverse it was known as Grand Metropolitan
See Also
Sources of Information
- [1] Competition Commission