Building a Senior Leadership Team for a £1bn UK Hotel Platform

Our client is a newly established hotel investment and operating partner, backed by a leading Private Equity firm. At the point of engagement, the business was completing a major UK acquisition that created a large, multi-branded hotel platform. The portfolio comprises a significant number of UK hotels operated under franchise agreements with leading international brands, requiring immediate operational leadership and governance capability.

Before closing the transaction, the client needed to move fast. The priority was to build a high-impact senior leadership team capable of:

• Launching a brand-new hotel management platform
• Driving performance across a £1bn transaction
• Operating a complex, multi-brand franchised portfolio
• Supporting future acquisition-led growth

This demanded leaders with proven scale, pace, and experience.

Working closely with the board, we designed and delivered a full leadership build-out. Our role combined strategic advisory with rapid execution:

• Supported with defining scope of the key roles
• Identified and engaged top-tier hotel executives with relevant multi-brand experience
• Ran multiple executive searches in parallel to meet tight timelines
• Assessed candidates rigorously for capability, leadership style, and cultural fit

We successfully delivered a series of critical senior hires, including:

• Group Managing Director
• Group Sales & Marketing Director
• Group Pricing & Revenue Director
• Regional COO

These appointments formed the backbone of the new operating platform.