Paramount turns to hotels for expansion

Restaurant group Paramount is looking to hotel sites to support its aggressive expansion plans after opening a Chez GŽrard in the Thistle Victoria in London.
Paramount chief executive Nick Basing said the restaurant - its 22nd - had been "going gangbusters" since it opened just over a week ago, and was the first in a series of such deals planned. "We're very keen to do other hotels and we're trying to build a relationship with Thistle," said Basing. "We think it could be pretty major, given the amount of hotel stock in the country. It's a rich vein to go after."
Thistle's chief operating officer Beverly King said the company had decided to tackle the hotel's F&B offering as it was "quite embarrassed" about the previous restaurant.
Under the seven-year concessionary arrangement, Paramount has paid to refurbish the restaurant and is supplying breakfasts and conference and banqueting for the hotel but not room service. King said Thistle would consider similar arrangements in future, but would also look to create its own branded F&B offerings.
Hotel operators are increasingly allying with branded offerings. Last year Niche Hotels signed a similar agreement with Living Ventures to operate the restaurant and bar at its Newcastle property.
Meanwhile, Paramount is planning a major rollout of its Bertorelli and Chez GŽrard brands complete with lower-priced formats. Next month sees the opening of a Bertorelli in London's Plantation Place.
"We're going after quite a few sites and are quite aggressive in terms of the number we want to open. The only limit is the quality of the sites," said Basing.

CAPTION: Basing: aggressive search for sites