Page 31 - Stakis A Case Study

Andros's view was that there should be a two-fold strategy
on hotels: develop the Country Court - the idea for which

came indirectly from the United States (all-suite hotels were

too upmarket and budget hotels too down-market) - and

upgrade existing hotels. The Country Court type of hotel

would offer a limited service at mid market with a

restaurant and conference facilities but not banquets and

would be located near new road structures such as the M25,

M4 M3. Unfortunately, the capital costs of Country Courts

were far in excess of those budgeted for, a fact which

caused some friction at board level where some members

felt ill informed about the project.

Furthermore, the intention was to emphasise the

integration of leisure pursuits into the hotel holiday

package. This reflected Andros Stakis' own interests, which

also included the linking of the new hotels to sporting

activities.

In June 1990 Scottish & Newcastle Brewers, who had just

fought off a hostile takeover bid from Fosters the Australian

beer giant, put on the market the whole of their Thistle

Hotels chain which they quickly sold to Mount Charlotte for
£625 million. Mount Charlotte were themselves soon in

trouble and were taken over. This sale represented the peak

and the turning point in hotel values.