Kit Chapman steps down as chairman at Taunton's Castle hotel
Kit Chapman has stepped down as chairman of the family-run Castle hotel in Taunton, Somerset, and replaced by his son, Nicholas.
Although Kit and his wife Louise will remain directors of the 44-bedroom hotel, they will no longer be involved in the day-to-day operations of the business.
Meanwhile, the hotel's sales and marketing director, Sarah Berry, has been promoted to the board of directors, which includes general manager Marc Mac Closkey, finance director Jon Peilow, and Nicholas Chapman's brother, Dominic Chapman, who is soon to leave the one-Michelin-star Royal Oak in Paley Street, Berkshire, as head chef to open his own pub nearby.
David Coubrough, also remains on the board as an independent non-executive director of the company.
Nick Chapman, a new media entrepreneur, grew up with the Castle hotel, which his grandparents Peter and Etty, acquired in 1950. Hi father joined the business in 1976, initially as marketing director, before becoming managing director and then chairman.
"It is one of Taunton and Somerset's great institutions with over a thousand years of history to its name," he said "My family are simply the present custodians. My grandfather was succeeded by my father who put the hotel and the town on the international tourist map with a succession of Michelin-starred chefs and initiatives like our Music Weekends which have been running for almost 40 years."
Kit Chapman admitted that while succession management can be "tricky" in a family business, it had been "seamless" with regards the Castle.
