Inside track

What business is it in?
Operator of three- and four-star properties.

What's its form?
The company had a turnover of £20m last year.

Where is its head office and area of operation
The company's headquarters is at Olney House, Witney, Oxfordshire, and it operates hotels in the heart of England in Oxfordshire, Thames Valley and Bristol. Its website is www.four-pillars.co.uk

What sort of employer is it?
It employs about 700 people and has just launched a graduate academy. A total of 15 graduates a year will enter the two-year programme as trainee managers, spending a month in each area of the hotel. By the second year of the course, trainees will be able to choose an area in which to specialise. Trainees are mentored throughout the scheme and receive a salary and live-in accommodation. Contact Katherine White, human resources manager on 01993 700 100 for more information.

How does the future look?
The company has an eye on expanding down the M4 corridor and adding to its five properties. An interesting twist is that expansion plans are put before the company's hotel managers and head chefs, as well as the board's directors.

Did you know?
The group was founded in 1974 by Brian Murtagh and John Oldman with the aim of running restaurants. The company switched its focus to hotels in 1982, when it bought the lease of a hotel in Isleworth, Middlesex, sold in the summer of 1993.