De Vere and Tony Troy have announced that Tony will be stepping down from his role as Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) at the end of the month to pursue other private investment opportunities.
Tony will, however, continue to support De Vere by taking on a Non-Executive Director position.
A career hotelier with over 30 years in the industry, Tony has helped shape the UK hospitality landscape from his first management buy-out in 1994 to more recently managing a multibillion pound capital investment and repositioning programme on behalf of Starwood Capital, a global private investment firm.
Tony supported and contributed to Starwood Capital’s strategic plan in creating the Principal Hotel Company. “Eight years ago, we embarked on an investment strategy aimed at consolidating more than 50 hotels across four different U.K. hotel companies to form a leading platform,” says Cody Bradshaw, Managing Director, Global Head of Hotel Asset Management, Starwood Capital. “Through Tony’s expert knowledge of the industry and his great entrepreneurial skills he made a significant contribution to the overall success of the strategy.”
James Burrell (pictured) will take on the role as CEO of De Vere
After realigning the various portfolios, delivering robust operating performance and overseeing the investment of more than £250 million of capital, this led to the creation of two new brands comprising Principal, iconic landmark city hotels and De Vere, a collection of historic mansion house estates and distinctive contemporary hotels and event destinations with market-leading conference and leisure facilities.
In July 2018 the Principal portfolio was successfully sold to Covivio and it was agreed that Tony would remain for a period of time to assist the transition of the remaining De Vere Group to become a standalone group in its own right. However, as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic, Tony chose to stay on to provide strategic support and direction during this period of unprecedented change and disruption. Having successfully navigated through this challenging period, Tony now moves into his Non-Executive role.
James Burrell, who joined Principal Hotel Company as Chief Financial Officer in July 2014 and greatly assisted Tony and Starwood Capital in the overall strategic development of the Group, will take on the role as CEO of De Vere.
“James is a proven executive with a successful track record of creating growth and value during his time with Principal, and we are incredibly pleased that he has agreed to continue his leadership role with De Vere as CEO,” continues Mr. Bradshaw. “His leadership has been invaluable, particularly over the last two years, and we look forward to the Group continuing to thrive under his stewardship.”
