Opening doors: London’s most iconic restaurant plans to be a global hotel brand

British brands and their expansion should tell the government a thing or two about what our cultural capital can do with a bit of self-belief, commercial strength and savvy, says Chris Blackhurst

The Wolseley is known far beyond London (PA)

There was consternation among London restaurant-goers when their favourite venue, owned by their favourite restaurateur, was acquired three years ago by a Thai-based group. It was feared The Wolseley, adored by many, including Lucian Freud (whose regular corner table was covered with a black cloth and a single candle following his death) and AA Gill, would be no more. It would not be the same without Jeremy King, its co-founder, greeting regulars and attending to every last detail.

But fears The Wolseley would lose its cachet have proved groundless. The restaurant and its siblings, including The Delaunay, Colbert and Brasserie Zedel, plus a new Wolseley in the City, are thriving.

The Wolseley remains as it was, known far beyond London for its “Parisian cafe meets Viennese dining room” menu, spectacular but intimate room, and warm ambience. The numbers speak for themselves. Last year, the original Wolseley sold 21,803 schnitzels, 7,542 pancakes, 45,750 afternoon teas and 29,837 oysters. As a group, the restaurants managed 18,358 champagne bottles and 91,306 glasses, 99,013 schnitzels, 15,755 pancakes and 49,104 afternoon teas.

Wolseley parent company, Minor International, turned in thumping annual results, including record net profits. Now Minor is taking the business international, and going further still, by opening The Wolseley Hotels. Proof that no single person is bigger than the brand, and evidence that what they created is capable of developing and expanding into a money-making machine

Minor is so-called because it was founded by entrepreneur Bill Heinecke when he was underage. American-born Heinecke started in business in Bangkok at the age of just 14, in 1963, while he was still in high school. He persuaded the editor of the Bangkok World newspaper to let him write a column on go-karting, securing advertising space alongside it. This initiative was so successful that he took over the paper's advertising manager position.

When Heinecke left school at 17, he decided he wanted to set up on his own. He borrowed $1,200 from a backstreet moneylender to register his first two companies: Inter-Asian Enterprise, which provided office cleaning services, and Inter-Asian Publicity, an advertising company. The holding company was Minor Holdings – for the first year, his mother had to sign the paychecks on his behalf.

Over nearly six decades, he grew Minor into a major powerhouse, encompassing hospitality (Minor Hotels), food (Minor Food) and lifestyle retail. Pivotal was the 2018 acquisition of Spain's NH Hotel Group, tripling Minor's hotel portfolio and propelling it to leading world hospitality player.

Today, Minor owns 560 properties with 85,000 rooms across 57 countries. They will be joined by four new brands – The Wolseley Hotels, Colbert Collection, Minor Reserve Collection and iStay Hotels – to help Minor achieve its aim of reaching 850 hotels and 4,000 restaurants by the end of 2027.

It’s all part of Heinecke’s bold vision. When asked which was his best decade, he is quick to answer: “My best decade has yet to come.”

Ian Di Tullio, chief commercial officer of Minor Hotels, said the Wolseley Hotels will “take multiple cues” from the restaurant in Piccadilly. “Like the restaurant, the hotel will be a place where formality melts away, replaced by friendly familiarity and glamour without pretension. Rituality and attentiveness are at the heart of the guest experience, where every guest will be treated to our effortless balance of class and etiquette, from their welcome by The Wolseley Hotel’s door person to the stay rituals delivered by a team passionate about the craft of hospitality.”

Minor is looking to open Wolseley Hotels in New York, Paris, Singapore, Hong Kong and Dubai and other key centres. London is also earmarked as “a fantastic location and a natural fit”.

Di Tullio said: “We will be very particular and deliberate about where we open The Wolseley Hotels properties, growing its footprint slowly with partners who share our vision for the brand experience. This will be a carefully curated rollout, with each new location thoughtfully chosen to be a perfect match for the brand’s character and values.”

Ian Di Tullio of Minor Hotels: ‘Like the restaurant, the hotel will be a place where formality melts away’ (Getty)

He added: “Brands are a brilliant way to endorse existing customers and find new ones.” He makes the point, though, that it does not apply to all. “The Wolseley is an iconic brand with soul and character, and an individual creativity – there are very few of them, which is why we want to start a new hotel portfolio with our existing brands.”

Nevertheless, he has a product – Britain has a product – that is internationally transferable, provided standards are maintained. “There is pure theatre, pleasurable impact for anyone entering The Wolseley and we want to celebrate and to share that special sense of luxury with a new global audience. We will do that respectfully and carefully and with passion.”

So, The Wolseley brand sustains and is expanding. Rather than the world taking over a uniquely British label, that British label is taking over the world. It shows what Britain is capable of, with an injection of self-belief and commercial strength and savvy.

What began as a car showroom was, through imagination and flair, transformed into an exceptional restaurant, then widened. Now it’s to be raised to another level, across the globe, in hotels.

Credit to Minor and Heinecke for having the idea and for going where others have not. You realise that a Paris or Brussels restaurant could not make the leap, they just don’t have that same internationally-admired British style. We could make so much more out of this as a country, as an economy. It does make you wonder what other loved and homegrown brands could achieve with the application of similar faith and a fair wind.

Investors, brand proprietors and Keir Starmer and his teams devoted to exporting British soft power, please note.