Mike Magrane appointed COO of Leaf Hospitality

Mike Magrane is set to join hotel management company Leaf Hospitality as chief operating officer from 6 January.

Magrane joins Leaf Hospitality from GLH where he was operations director, during which time the company opened the first UK Hard Rock hotel in London and rebranded its Grosvenor hotel as the Amba Hotel Grosvenor.

He previously worked at QHotels for 11 years, including as director of asset development and regional general manager. Under his leadership, the Midland hotel in Manchester won the Hotel of the Year – Group Catey in 2014.

Magrane started his hotel career with Forte Hotels and was appointed to his first general manager position in 1996. He moved to the Midland hotel in 2005, having previously been general manager at sister property, the Queens hotel in Leeds.

Leaf Hospitality manages properties including the DoubleTree by Hilton Hull, DoubleTree by Hilton Lincoln, Hampton by Hilton Humberside Airport and Holiday Inn Express Grimsby.

Magrane said: “Richard’s vision and business success to date, with people being at the very heart of this company, made the opportunity one not to be missed. The clear strategy and plans for growth are incredibly exciting and I am very much looking forward to help shape and deliver the next stages of Leaf Hospitality.”

Richard Farrar, managing director of Leaf Hospitality, added: “An industry leader with a proven record of commercial achievement, product improvement, people development and service delivery, Mike is a world-class operator who brings unrivalled expertise of the hospitality sector.

“His appointment further enhances the leadership team at an exciting time for Leaf Hospitality and will no doubt play a crucial role in driving the business to achieve our medium and long terms goals. On a personal level, Mike’s positive energy was infectious and I’m really looking forward to seeing what we can achieve together.”