Management shake-up at hospitality group

24 October 2007

The Lewis Partnership, the Staffordshire hospitality group, has announced the appointment of five new positions and the creation of a new Senior Management Team to oversee the running of the group's two luxury hotels.

The Lewis Partnership, owners of the four star Moat House Hotel in Acton Trussell and the three star Swan Hotel in Stafford, have been trading in the area since 1988 when the Lewis family opened The Moat House pub in their family home. Since then they have consistently developed their business by adding bedrooms, function rooms and in 2002 by purchasing the historic Swan Hotel in Stafford town centre.

The appointment of a Senior Management Team is a major part of the group development plan devised by Managing Partner, Chris Lewis; he commented: "Up until 18 months ago the two hotels were essentially run as two separate businesses and we shared very few resources. By developing the Lewis Partnership brand we can benefit from group purchasing and marketing power, giving our product more weight in an industry that is saturated with multi-national chains. At the moment the group consists of two hotels but we never say never to expanding the portfolio."

The new Senior Management Team comprises of an Financial Controller, Sales and Revenue Manager, HR Manager, Group Executive Chef and two Operations Managers. All of the positions were filled by candidates from within the organisation following a comprehensive review, interview and assessment exercise.

"The transformation of the management structure is intended to clarify responsibilities and give the rest of the team members an identifiable point of contact within senior management. I am delighted to have been able to fill the positions with current team members, many of whom have been with the company for a number of years. I'm confident in the team's ability and commitment to develop the business over the coming years and I'm equally confident in the ability of the teams in each hotel who keep us running 24 hours a day."

The Lewis Partnership current employ approximately 250 people across the two hotels and have an annual turnover in excess of £6m. Their other business interests include the family farm, a marketing agency (Sponge Marketing) and Staffordshire Pub Company, which currently holds the lease on The Bear in Stafford.

The new Senior Management Team:

Chris Lewis (Managing Partner)
Joanne Cook (Financial Controller)
Vanessa Rose (Sales & Revenue Manager)
Diana Bathurst (HR Manager)
Ben Lain (Operations Manager - Moat House)
Luke Stanley (Operations Manager - The Swan)
Matt Davies (Group Executive Chef)

For further information regarding The Lewis Partnership visit www.thelewispartnership.co.uk or telephone 01785 712217.