The founder of budget boutique hotel The Hoxton, Sinclair Beecham, has been forced to postpone plans to turn the hotel into a national chain due to the economic downturn, according to The Times.
In October, Beecham announced he was planning to open a second property on Edinburgh's Royal Mile by the end of 2009, to be followed by further projects in Glasgow, Leeds, Birmingham and Bristol.
Beecham, who also co-founded the food chain Pret a Manger, launched the Hoxton in London’s east end, after becoming frustrated with what he deemed “rip-off prices” charged at other hotels.
The downturn has also prompted Beecham to offer 50 rooms, with Pret breakfast and bottle of mineral water, completely free, as a “gesture of thanks to its city clientele”, but which is also a shrewd marketing ploy given the traditionally quiet period in hotels around this time of year.
Beecham and co-founder Julian Metcalfe, pocketed an estimated £50m in cash from the sale last February of the sandwich chain to Bridgepoint Capital for about £345m.
The men, who retain an interest in the business, sold a 33% stake to McDonald's eight years earlier.
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By Gemma Sharkey
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