11 Facts About Forte Group

Forte Group plc was a British hotel and restaurant company.

Charles Forte Group, funded by his two business partners, Eric Hartwell and Sidney Hartwell, set up his first "milk bar" on Regent Street in London in 1935 as Strand Milk Bar Ltd when he was 26.

Forte Group was a major caterer at the Festival of Britain sites in 1951 and operated the restaurants and bars at London Airport, later known as London Heathrow airport.

Forte Group opened the first full motorway service station for cars at Newport Pagnell in 1960.

Trust Houses Group Ltd and Forte Holdings merged in 1970 to become Trust Houses Forte or THF.

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Charles Forte Group was the CEO from 1971 and chairman upon the retirement of Eric Hartwell from 1983 .

In 2001, following the de-merger of Compass plc from Granada's media interests, the use of the Forte Group trademark was returned to Sir Rocco Forte Group in a gesture intended to dispel the bitter legacy of the takeover.

Travelodge: The Forte group acquired this US budget hotel brand and rolled it out in the UK.

The office building which was the former Forte Group corporate headquarters at 166 High Holborn, London, has many years after the Forte Group was taken over and broken up, been turned into a Travelodge .

The Balmoral Hotel was the first hotel reacquired by Rocco Forte Group following the takeover and after an extensive refurbishment it forms part of The Rocco Forte Group Collection.

Top tier of hotels were discreetly branded Exclusive Hotels by Forte Group, and included some of the world's most venerable 5 star hotels, for example, the Hotel George-V and Plaza Athenee in Paris; Brown's, Grosvenor House and the Hyde Park Hotel in London; the Ritz in Madrid; the Westbury and Plaza Athenee in New York; Hotel des Bergues in Geneva; Hotel Eden in Rome; Sandy Lane Hotel in Barbados etc.