Former Rocco Forte Hotels managing director David Pantin will launch his own luxury hotel group this summer.
The first, the 35-room Ellington, will open in Leeds in August and has already been accepted as a member of the Leading Small Hotels of the World.
With financial backing from the Royal Bank of Scotland, Pantin aims to establish a small group of upmarket hotels around the world over the next five years.
“I’m taking it step by step. I’d like to get this one right first. But I hope to have a small group of hotels, whether that means five, six or eight.â€
Pantin said the group was in advanced due diligence for a project in Poland and was also looking at two opportunities in the Caribbean, one in Barbados and another in the Bahamas.
All hotels will be new builds and will not open until 2010 or 2011, he added.
