New Millennium & Copthorne boss to focus on stability

The new chief executive of hotel group Millennium & Copthorne (M&C) has revealed that his focus will be on stability rather than expansion.

Richard Hartman, who joined the company at the beginning of April, told Caterersearch he was not planning on making expansion plans given the volatile market conditions.

"As a company we want to maintain what we've got and improve our market share and profitability," he said. "Unlike most hotel groups out there our number one priority is not expansion, it's making sure our hotels perform at the maximum level. If we do that expansion will take care of itself."

The last five chief executives at M&C have had an average tenure of less than two years, with the most recent - Peter Papadimitropoulos - leaving by "mutual consent" after just six months.

However, Hartman was quick to defend M&C's business ethics, putting the decision down to his predecessor "not realising what he was getting into".

But Hartman, who was previously managing director of InterContinental Hotels in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, did admit that the quick turnover in management could create an impression of a "unpredictability". He said he wanted to overcome this as it would affect the confidence of shareholders, staff and customers.

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By Gemma Sharkey

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