The investment has boosted the hotel group’s expansion ambitions but has also impacted the broader Forte group’s profitability.
Financial statements for the year ending April reveal that UK revenues for the group grew to £67.6 million, up from £62.4 million, while overseas revenues increased to £223.4 million from £209.8 million. Overall, total revenue climbed by 6.3% to £311.9 million, with room occupancy rising slightly to 59.9%.
However, revenue from the group’s two Russian properties, the Angleterre and the Astoria in St Petersburg, fell slightly to £20.8 million. Despite this, the company expressed confidence in its ongoing performance, noting: “There was revenue growth in each geographic region, building further on the strong growth recorded in the prior year. The group is committed to ensuring that its hotels remain leaders in their cities.”
The new developments include two properties in Milan—Carlton and Rocco Forte House—along with new hotels in Porto Cervo, Sardinia, Palazzo Castelluccio in Noto, and Palazzo Sirignano in Naples. The expansion builds on Sir Rocco’s strong family ties to Italy and reinforces the group’s presence in key European markets.
Forte, 78, continues as executive chairman alongside his sister Olga Polizzi, 77, who remains deputy chairman. His children, Charles, Lydia, and Irene, also hold key roles in the business. The group was originally founded by Forte and Polizzi in 1996 following the hostile takeover of their former family business by Granada.
Despite the PIF’s substantial investment, the Forte family retains a majority stake in the company. The deal included issuing £82 million in new equity and saw the exit of Italian investment firm CDPE from its stake in the hotel group.
Jamie Young
Jamie Young is Senior Reporter at Business Matters, covering SME finance, employment law and Westminster policy since 2016. He has reported on every Budget and Autumn Statement since 2018, helped make sense of the 'covid era' and the bounce-back loan scheme from launch through the fraud investigations, and broke the magazine's coverage of the 2024 late-payment reforms. He joined Business Matters straight from completing his BA in Administration from Exeter University and is NCTJ-qualified. Reach him at jyoung@cbmeg.co.uk
