Nick Halliday has departed from Hotel du Vin as chief operating officer due to what is believed to be a "conflict of interest".
The resignation of Halliday, which was immediate, came just a few days ahead of the opening by the boutique brand of its 19th property, the 46-bedroom Hotel du Vin in Stratford-upon-Avon.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Hotel du Vin said: "Nick Halliday has resigned in order to pursue new ventures. We wish Nick all the success for the future." New management appointments are expected to be announced shortly.
Halliday confirmed that he had left the company and that he is going on to a new project, but that it "might be a while" before he would be able to reveal the details of his next move.
He joined Hotel du Vin in 2014, when it had 15 hotels and a few months ahead of the brand's 20th anniversary.
At the time, Halliday said that he was attracted to the brand, having long admired the core values put in place by its founders, Robin Hutson and Gerard Basset, who launched the company in 1994.
"My job is now to build on those values, polish the brand and physically grow it in the future," he said.
Hotel du Vin was sold a year after Halliday's arrival, along with sister brand Malmaison, to Frasers Hospitality UK for £363.4m by US-based private equity firm KSL Capital Partners.
Guus Bakker, chief executive, Frasers Hospitality Europe, Middle East & Africa, took over the chief executive role of Hotel du Vin and Malmaison last year following the departure of Paul Roberts.
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