Former Malmaison Hotel du Vin boss joins Village Hotels Club as CEO

by XPRESS, 05 July 2017

Paul Roberts, who last month stepped down as chief executive of Malmaison and Hotel du Vin (MHdeV), has re-joined his former boss Gary Davis at Village Hotel Club.

He will take on the role of chief executive, which has been vacated by Davis as he has moved up to executive chairman to focus on the strategic development of the business, which today comprises 28 mid-market hotels with a strong focus on leisure and entertainment.

Roberts and Davis previously worked together at De Vere Hotels. They then both moved to MHdeV in 2012: Roberts as finance director and Davis as chief executive. Davis left MHdeV in 2015 when former owner US-based private equity firm, KSL Capital Partners, sold the business to Singapore-based property firm Frasers Centrepoint. He remained with KSL to run the Village brand, while Roberts was promoted to chief executive of MHdeV.

Roberts said he was “delighted” to join Village Hotel Club, which has been variously called De Vere Village Hotels and Village Urban Resorts in recent years. “I have really admired how it has continued to innovate over the years.

“The opportunity to build on its fantastic platform is a hugely exciting prospect. I look forward to working with all within the business to help deliver further success.”

Davis added that Roberts has joined what is “a dynamic” management team. “The Village Hotel Club will continue to develop our unique lifestyle proposition of rooms, food and health and fitness with innovative design and industry changing technology.

“As executive chairman, I will focus on developing the product, rolling out our aggressive new build plans and working closely with Paul to ensure we continue to outperform.”

New Village hotels are set to open in Portsmouth and Bristol over the next 12 months.