Rocco Forte
 |
This article includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. (March 2009) |
| Sir Rocco Forte | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 18, 1945 Bournemouth, United Kingdom |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Hotelier |
Sir Rocco Forte FCA FIoD (born 18 January 1945) is a British hotelier.
Born in Bournemouth, the son of the late Lord Forte, he was educated at St Peter's Catholic Comprehensive School, Southbourne, Downside School. He read modern languages at Pembroke College, Oxford, [1] where he won a blue for fencing. He took over from his father as CEO of the Forte Group in 1992.
In 1983, in Rome, he married Aliai Ricci, a seventeen-year-old Italian, daughter of a psychiatrist.
In the mid-1990s, the Forte Group was faced with a hostile takeover bid from Gerry Robinson's Granada. Ultimately, Granada succeeded with a £3.87 billion tender offer in August 1995 that left the family with around £350 million in cash.
In 2001, following the de-merger of Compass Group from Granada's media interests, the use of the Forte trademark was returned to Forte in a gesture intended to dispel the bitter legacy of the takeover.
After the takeover, Forte set up his own chain of hotels - initially known as RF Hotels and re-branded as The Rocco Forte Collection after the return of the Forte brand name. He bought the Balmoral Hotel, Edinburgh and Brown's Hotel, London for £51.5m. As of 2103, Rocco Forte Hotels operates eleven hotels in Europe, with four more due to open.
Forte's family wealth in 2006 was listed as £385,000,000.[citation needed]
Forte funded a series of lectures at Westminster Cathedral in April 2008 organised by Cardinal Archbishop Cormac Murphy-O'Connor. The first of these was given by former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, who launched his "faith foundation" there. Later, Forte was reported to have criticised Blair for passing anti-Catholic legislation.[2]
In 1992 Rocco & Martin Landau opened a City Technology College in Derby named Landau Forte College. In 2006 they changed to an academy. In 2010 they turned a Tamworth High School (Woodhouse Business & Enterprise College) and turned it into Landau Forte Academy Tamworth but in 2011 when they opened Landau Forte Academy QEMS in Tamworth they changed their name to Landau Forte Academy Amington. There has since been a six-form centre near QEMS named as the former name of Landau Forte Academy Amington.
His niece is Alex Polizzi, a hotelier and the presenter of Channel 5's the Hotel Inspector.
References [edit]
- ^ "Sir Rocco Forte, MA, FCA - Chairman The Rocco Forte Collection". Conrad N. Hilton College. University of Houston. Retrieved 2010-03-25.
- ^ Marre, Oliver (2008-04-13). "Pendennis". The Guardian (London).
