Cateys 2024: International Outstanding Achievement Award: Sharan Pasricha

With singular vision and a fearlessness when it comes to doing things differently, Sharan Pasricha has taken Ennismore from humble beginnings to a global hospitality brand celebrated for its creativity and individualism. 

He burst onto the scene in 2011 with the acquisition of the original Hoxton hotel in London and went on to expand the brand internationally, achieving acclaim for transforming characterful buildings in gentrifying neighbourhoods into venues that were playfully rooted in their locations. 

He surprised the industry in 2015 with his purchase of the five-red-AA-star Gleneagles hotel in Auchterarder, Perthshire, a move that once again transpired to be a shrewd business decision. The Indian-born entrepreneur undertook a multimillion-pound refurbishment that was completed in 2020, broadening the hotel’s appeal with a host of new spaces and activities that reaffirmed its image as ‘the glorious playground’.

At the time he told The Caterer: “In my eyes, it was a sleeping giant that had the potential to be the best hotel in the world, so we’ve been working hard over the past few years to make sure it becomes just that.”

His success was immediately apparent and in the year the works were completed it received 16 awards, including Best Hotel in the World in The Times and The Sunday Times Travel Awards and Best UK Hotel in the Condé Nast Traveller Readers’ Choice Awards.

Ennismore’s luxury portfolio in the UK has continued to grow with the 2018 acquisition of Eynsham Hall country house hotel in Oxfordshire and the 2022 opening of Gleneagles Townhouse in Edinburgh. Internationally, Ennismore has opened the Rixos resort in Turkey and expanded its lifestyle stable across brands including Mondrian, Mama Shelter and Jo&Joe. 

In 2021 Ennismore entered a joint venture with French hotel giant Accor to create a global lifestyle hospitality company. It now has a portfolio that comprises some 150 operating hotels and resorts, with more than 100 further venues in the pipeline, including Hyde London City and the Hoxton, Edinburgh, both slated to open this year. 

Growth has been rapid and the business’s success in driving expansion without compromising on individuality has been awe-inspiring. Pasricha credits this to the partnership with Accor, saying it allows Ennismore to stay true to its creative drive with scalability provided by the French giant. 

What has long stood Pasricha apart from contemporaries is his ability to spot opportunities and to follow his instincts fearlessly, something that can be seen in the group’s restaurant portfolio, which includes Dubai’s first female-led restaurant Fi’lia, overseen by chef Célia Stoecklin. It has also seen him establish co-working brand Working From_, with locations in London, Chicago, Brussels and Dubai, as well as the Dis-loyalty travel and food membership programme, which spans 80 hotels and 170 bars and restaurants in more than 50 destinations.

Pasricha’s impact on hospitality has seen him included in The Caterer’s Top 100 Most Powerful People in Hospitality and Condé Nast Traveller’s 50 People Changing The Way We Travel list. He was also awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2022 for services to the hotel industry.

Pasricha has repeatedly shown his ability to spot venues and concepts that will capture the public’s attention. His keen eye for design and willingness to follow his gut have seen him build up a truly formidable company that has changed the face of hospitality on an international scale.