Gordon Ramsay set to open in France - For more hospitality stories, see what the weekend papers say

Gordon Ramsay set to open in France
Gordon Ramsay’s next international opening could be in France. Blackstone, the private equity group that has backed several of Ramsay's restaurants, including his latest venture in New York, has acquired the palatial Trianon Palace & Spa Hotel outside Versailles in France for an estimated £101m. The company is set to offer Ramsay a chance to create a restaurant there, fulfilling his ambition to open a gastronomic experience in France. – The Independent, 10 December

Hilton to roll out in China
Hilton Hotels Corporation is this week set to unveil plans for a big expansion in China with a deal to open more than 25 hotels in three of the country’s fastest-growing cities. Hilton has formed a partnership with Rreef, the property investment arm of Deutsche Bank, and H&Q Asia Pacific, an investment firm, to take its mid-market Hilton Garden Inn brand into the region for the first time. – Sunday Times, 10 December

Big Mac making bigger profits
McDonald's said sales at restaurants open at least 13 months rose 6.2% in November. In Europe, same-store sales were up 8.4%, with particular strength in Germany and France. – The Scotsman, 9 December

Forte hotels revenue tops £100m mark
Sir Rocco Forte's group of 11 luxury hotels checked in record revenues in 2005 with sales soaring past the £100m mark. Rocco Forte Hotels, which runs five-star operations such as the Savoy in Florence and the Astoria in St Petersburg, posted a 15% increase in sales, to £107.7m, at its hotels under management in the year to the end of April 2006. Pre-tax profits also sparkled with a 3.9% increase to £12.9m. – The Independent, 10 December

Belfry valued at £50m
Sean Quinn has emerged as the ultimate controlling party of the Belfry hotel and golf resort. Ownership of the hotel is held by Sean Quinn through a British-registered company. Accounts for the resort show the Belfry earned pre-tax profits of £7m in 2005 on sales of £29m. It is valued at £50m in the accounts. Relations between the Quinn family and the Belfry operator De Vere became strained earlier this year when it emerged that the Irish company had tried to end the contract claiming a breach of terms. – Sunday Times (Irish edition), 10 December

Macdonald Hotels threaten to stop any more Scottish investment
Macdonald Hotels could pull out of a multimillion-pound tourism development at Aviemore if its planning problems are not resolved in the next year. The company is upset about delays over planning permission to build 140 houses on the grounds of the site; as well as a request by the local authority to extend and widen a road on its property that could bring truck and bus traffic near the resort. Peter Murphy, the new managing director for Macdonald Hotels in Scotland, has pledged not to spend another penny on new developments north of the Border until the situation is sorted. – Sunday Herald, 10 December

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