Charles Forte, Founded A Hotel Empire, 98

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Charles Forte, Who Founded a Hotel Empire, Dies at 98

By JULIA WERDIGIER

LONDON [England], Feb. 28 ]2007[ - Charles Forte, the owner of a hotel
and restaurant empire that ranged from the Waldorf Hotel in London to
the budget chain Travelodge, died on Wednesday [February 28, 2007] at
his home in London. He was 98.

His death was announced by Sue Heady, a spokeswoman for the hotel
company owned by Mr. Forte's son.

Mr. Forte, who was born in Italy but moved to Scotland when he was 4,
turned a London milk bar chain into one of the biggest lodging and
catering businesses, employing 41,000 people at 940 hotels and
restaurants around the world.

His passion for the catering business started at an early age when he
was helping his father at the family's ice cream shop and cafe. In
1934, after moving to London, he borrowed some money from his parents
and opened a milk bar in the city center.

By the time World War II started, Mr. Forte (pronounced FOR-tay) was
known to Londoners as "Mr. Piccadilly," after the London street that
was home to many expensive stores and tea houses. After the war, he
received the first contract to supply catering services to London's
new Heathrow Airport.

The business soon took off, and Mr. Forte expanded into highway
restaurants and bought luxury hotels, like London's Waldorf, within
walking distance of where he founded his first milk bar years
earlier.

To raise money for expansion, Mr. Forte sold shares in his company,
Forte Holdings, to the public in 1962. He subsequently opened hotels
next to busy highways, offering drivers a place to sleep.

The hotels soon grew into Travelodge, adding to an empire that also
included the Little Chef and Happy Eater restaurants and Posthouse
hotels as well as the wine merchant Grierson-Blumenthal and a stake in
the Savoy Hotel. Mr. Forte was unsuccessful in his repeated efforts to
acquire the Savoy outright.

Mr. Forte, whose company at one point also did the catering for 10
Downing Street, the residence of the British prime minister, retired
in 1992, leaving his empire in the hands of his son, Rocco, one of six
children.

Soon afterward, a fierce takeover battle erupted when the company
received a hostile bid from the British media group Granada. In 1996,
the Forte empire was finally sold to Granada for £3.9 billion ($7.6
billion).

The Forte trademark was returned years later to Rocco Forte, who
continues to run a luxury hotel chain in Europe.

Mr. Forte was knighted in 1970 for his services to the catering
industry and for charitable and cultural events. He received his
lordship when he was awarded a life peerage during Margaret Thatcher's
government, taking the name Baron Forte of Ripley, in the County of
Surrey.

In addition to his son, he is survived by his wife, Irene, and five
daughters.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/01/obituaries/01forte.html?ref=obituaries