Stafford London and Kempinski Hotels terminate management agreement
The management agreement between London's Stafford hotel and Kempinski Hotels has been terminated by mutual agreement.
The five-red-AA-star, 105-bedroom hotel in St James has been under the management of Kempinski, which is believed to be Europe's oldest luxury hotel group, since 2010. Kempinski has been dropped from the name of the hotel, which will now be branded as the Stafford London.
Kempinski was founded in Berlin in 1897 and today owns and operates 73 hotels worldwide, with a further six in the pipeline. The loss of the Stafford will mean that the group will no longer have a presence in the UK.
Reservations for the Stafford can continue to be made via Kempinski's sales channels until 10 September. All existing reservations will be honoured and staff will not be affected.
A statement from the Stafford hotel said that the decision to end the agreement had been made "in the best interests of all parties".
Founded in 1912, the Stafford was bought in September 2009 by Britannia Hospitality, owned by Egypt's El Sharkawy family, for a reported £77.5m from pubs and hotel firm Daniel Thwaites.
The general manager is Christine Hodder and executive chef is Carlos Martinez, who joined the hotel in November 2013 from Cliveden in Buckinghamshire.
Christine Hodder appointed new general manager of the Stafford London by Kempinski >>