Kate Levin appointed general manager of new NoMad hotel in Covent Garden

The first NoMad hotel to open outside the US has appointed Kate Hart, better known by her maiden name Kate Levin, as its inaugural general manager.

Hart was previously general manager of the Capital hotel in London, which has been owned by the Levin family for 49 years. The Capital was sold to US-based Warwick Hotels and Resorts in January 2017 and Levin did not return to the hotel following maternity leave in 2018.

The 91-bedroom NoMad hotel will be opened in the former Bow Street Magistrates Court and Police Station in Covent Garden through a partnership between New York-based Sydell Group and investment firm Business Trading Company (BTC). Set to launch in summer 2020, it will join three existing NoMad hotels in the US, in New York, Los Angeles and Las Vegas, and feature interiors designed by American company Roman and Williams.

Hart, who has more than 17 years' hospitality experience, said: “I expect the NoMad London to be one of the most exciting hotel openings in London, and I am thrilled to be part of the team. I believe that my experience will be well-matched with Sydell Groups expertise in creating hotels that are both dynamic and rooted in their communities.”

After starting her career with London-based luxury health club Third Space in 2002 as as duty manager and marketing executive, Hart joined the British Academy of Films and Television Arts (BAFTA) headquarters 195 Piccadilly, where she spearheaded private events. In 2007 she was appointed operations manager at No One Events at Hammer Holdings, where she launched the openings of event spaces One Marylebone and One Mayfair.

Hart went on to be appointed general manager of the Capital hotel in 2009, a position she held for more than nine years, and during which time she was chairman of marketing consortium Pride of Britain and named the Independent Hotel Show’s Hotelier of the Year. More recently she has been a consultant at Beaverbrook, the luxury country house hotel in Leatherhead, Surrey.

Sydell Group founder and chief executive Andrew Zobler is renowned for taking historical buildings and transforming them into hotels deeply rooted in their location and architecture. His company developed the Ned in the City of London, which was opened in 2017 as a joint venture with Soho House & Co.