The owner of Yorkshire-based Cedar Court Hotels, George Demetriou, has retired from the day-to-day management of the chain to take up a non-executive role.
He
is stepping down from his role as Group Managing Director of the
Acropolis Group of Companies, which owns various hospitality and
property businesses including Cedar Court Hotels, to take up the
position of Non-Executive Chairman of the holding company Acropolis
Investments Limited. He will also act as Non-Executive Chairman of the
main trading company, Acropolis Hotels Limited.
Starting with a
coffee shop in Wakefield in 1960, Demetriou built up his businesses
until he had enough capital to purchase a plot of land next to the M1
mototrway near Wakefield, which became the first Cedar Court Hotel.
Between
1993 and 2001 he added three further hotels in Brard, Huddersfield
and Harrogate, and his most recent project was the creation of Cedar Court Grand Hotel & Spa in York, which last year became Yorkshire’s only five-star hotel.
“After
spending over 50 years growing the business to the point where it now
encompasses five hotels, a portfolio of investment properties and two
coffee bars, the time has come to step aside and allow others to build
the future success of the business,” says Demetriou. “Acropolis is
fortunate to have a strong senior management team so it is in very safe
hands. Many of them have been with me every step of the way as the
business has grown and diversified and I will enjoy seeing where it goes
next in my new role.
Kevin Henry, the Group Finance Director,
will take on the role of Group Managing Director with responsibility for
overall business strategy. The Group Hotel Director, John Horvath, will
continue in that role, and will assume full responsibility for the
group’s high profile hotel business.
Pictured L-R: Horvath, Demetriou, Henry outiside the Cedar Court Wakefield.
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