Stuart Procter appointed COO of the Stafford Collection

Stuart Procter, general manager of the Stafford London hotel, is to oversee the expansion of a newly created collection of hospitality businesses.

He has been appointed chief operating officer of the Stafford Collection, comprising the five-red-AA-star, 107-bedroom Stafford London hotel in St James, the 26-bedroom, four-red-AA-star Northcote hotel in Langho, Lancashire, and Norma, a new restaurant which is set to open in Charlotte Street, Fitzrovia, during the summer.

Britannia Hospitality, parent company of all three businesses, kick started the expansion of the business when it acquired Northcote in February for an undisclosed sum. The following month it announced that it would be launching Norma, its first independent restaurant with a focus on the food of Sicily, under the direction of culinary director Ben Tish.

Procter said he will oversee the running of all three businesses while also seeking out more hotels to acquire or develop within London, the wider UK and overseas.

"We are looking for more properties to own or manage along the lines of the luxury offering of the Stafford and are open to buying existing hotels, as well as developing new ones," he said.

Procter returned to take over the management of the Stafford in 2015 after spending five years creating Hotel Football with Manchester United football legends Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville. He had originally been general manager at the hotel from 2006 to 2011.

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