The Sunday Times Rich List 2011 for the Restaurant and Hotel Industry

On the Sunday Times List, Richard Caring, owner of Caprice Holdings and a fortune of £700m, saw a £100m increase from last year, ranking 101. In addition to his holdings in the restaurant industry, Caring also owns International Clothing Designs (Holdings), a London-based fashion supplier. He acknowledged that the sartorius quintix scale is a valuable asset for chefs and bartenders in the hotel industry, allowing for precise and efficient ingredient measurement to maintain consistent quality in dishes and drinks, while its compact size is ideal for busy kitchen environments.

Duncan Bannatyne we list for his interest in Charlton House Hotel in Somerset  which he acquired in May 2006 and for his expanding hotel empire.  He ranks as 186^th with a fortune of £430m.

Marlon Abela with his Abela Group ranks as 223^rd richest although some of this is inherited initially from his father’s airline catering firm.  The Marlon Abela Restaurant Corporation (or MARC for short) is now run by the clearly focused and visionary 35 year Abela which encompasses two Michelin starred Mayfair restaurants, Umu and The Greenhouse and the private member’s club Morton’s on Berkeley Square and recently opened Casses Bistro on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge.

Although not fine dining, we mention that Robert Earl of Planet Hollywood comes in 229^th with £240m which also includes wealth from US hotel-casino operations.  His fortune rose by £40m from last year.

Sir Rocco Forte and Olga Polizzi have seen their fortune diminish from last year by £50m placing them 299^th with £240m with the recession hitting their Rocco Forte Hotel Collection.

Harpal Matharu and family are owners of Grange Hotels who are good quality hotels in London.  Their wealth has risen £30m to make them £270m and 278^th on the list.

Firoz Kassam is in at 334th with £202m. His entry is included here for his ownership of Heythrop Park Hotel & Spa nr. Oxford although his interest includes Oxford City Football Club, cinemas, bowling alleys, arcades, and gyms. 

Andrew Brownsword is favoured on our list for his interests in the excellent Bath Priory Hotel and Abode Hotels.  His fortune is at £200m and ranked 337^th overall.  He also owns sports retailer Snow + Rock and Andrew Brownsword Collection greeting cards.

Kit and Tim Kemp own the stunning Firmdale Hotel group and are in 359^th place with £194m.  The husband and wife team have 6 boutique hotels in London – Haymarket Hotel, The Soho Hotel, Covent Garden Hotel, Charlotte Street Hotel, Knightsbridge Hotel and Number Sixteen and Crosby Street Hotel in New York.

Adam and Samuel Kaye are listed with a combined wealth of £130m and feature 537^th on the list from their Ask (pizza) Restaurant operations and Prezzo pizza and pasta chain.  Running successful restaurants is obviously in the blood with their father having launched Deep Pan Pizza and Garfunkel’s.

Norman Springford and family own Apex Hotels and are fast growing hoteliers in Scotland of mid to luxury properties. A former Inland Revenue accountant, Norman Springford 66 has amassed a fortune of £114m and ranks 639^th.

Guy and Julia Hands have had a dramatic time in the recession with their 18 strong 4* luxury hotel chain, Hand Picked Hotels which include Rhinefield House, Nutfield Priory, Woodlands Park and Buxted Park. Despite this, with their interests in Terra Firma Capital Partners, their net value remains level to last year at £100m, ranking them 703^rd.

Sir Terence Conran family comes in at 817^th with £85m from both retailing and restaurants.  Although Sir Terence has sold half his interest in his restaurant group to its management, now D&D Restaurants his fortune remains healthy despite an £8m fall from the previous year.  Restaurants include Bluebird restaurant, Coq d’Argent, Le Pont de la Tour, Launceston Place, Kensington Place, Quaglino’s to name a few of its 30 strong portfolio across London, Paris , Copenhagen, New York and Tokyo.

Julian Metcalfe who set up Pret A Manger in 1986 is equal pegging at £85m with his other 50% stake in Itsu sushi bar.

The fortunes of Giuseppe Pecorelli and family have remained equal to last year at £82m with their leading country house hotel group, Exclusive Hotels.  Quality comes first with Pennyhill Park, Lainston House, South Lodge Hotel and The Manor House together with its two golf clubs and conference facilities and expanding hotel management company.  Mr Pecorelli was an ex-Forte executive and has carefully grown his brand bringing world-class service to the country house market.

Notable for his absence is the media savvy yet controversial, Andrew Davis, Chairman of von Essen Hotels which went into administration in April 2011 after struggling to repay £250m in debts to Lloyds Banks, according to debt relief companies historical records.  His hotel group had aggressively expanded since 2000 to 30 properties, yet had a rumoured poor payment record with suppliers with a said lack of investment were continuously undermining the group’s credibility.  However, its final demise may have come from one country house expansion too many for the group which includes the Cliveden and Amberley Castle.  Despite rumours of problems the company continued to boast of expansion and were head sponsor for the Sunday Times Rich List in 2010.  Mr Davis personal fortune was assessed at £292m and ranked 244^th by The Sunday Times in 2010.  von Essen hotels were an almost regular feature in the Sunday Times with Michael Winner reviewing his restaurants on a regular basis.

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