Tony Troy, former boss of Principal Hotels, has been inadvertently confirmed as the new operator of four Le Méridien hotels.
Rumours that Troy was set to take over the leases of the Russell hotel in Bloomsbury, London, the Palace hotel in Manchester, the York hotel and the Metropole in Leeds, have been circulating since before Christmas. Although there has been no official announcement, members of Le Méridien's Guestbook loyalty programme have been sent a letter confirming the takeover by Troy's company, TMS.
It read: "You may have heard that the management of many of Le Méridien's UK and Ireland properties, which are owned by the Royal Bank of Scotland, has been under discussion over recent months. As a result of these discussions, an agreement has been reached on the change of management operation for some of these properties.
"From 5 January 2004, Le Méridien Waldorf in London will be operated by Hilton. During the first two months of 2004, management of Le Méridien Grosvenor House in London and Le M‚ridien Shelbourne in Dublin will be transferred to Marriott. In addition during this time, TMS, a UK-based company, will commence operation of Le Méridien Russell in London, Le Méridien Palace in Manchester, Le M‚ridien York and Le M‚ridien Metropole Leeds."
Troy is also rumoured to be close to securing the lease on Le Méridien's Selsdon Park hotel in Croydon, Surrey.
The properties are part of a group of 11 hotels that the Royal Bank of Scotland took back control of in July last year.
Leisure company Whitbread is hotly tipped to take over the lease at the Victoria and Albert in Manchester and is also understood to be eyeing the Cumberland in London.