M&C Signed for Two Hotels at Chelsea Football Club
UNITED KINGDOM, May 8, 2006. Millennium & Copthorne Hotels plc has announced the signing of an agreement with Chelsea Football Club to operate two hotels at Stamford Bridge totalling 275 rooms.
Both hotels will be operated under a long term management contract and all non-stadium food and beverage operations and meeting facilities will be included within Millennium & Copthorne's management.
One hotel will be branded the Copthorne Hotel at Chelsea Football Club (160 rooms) and one the Millennium Hotel at Chelsea Football Club (115 rooms) following a substantial refurbishment and upgrade programme to be completed this year. The execution and control of the refurbishment programme will be such as to cause no disruption to the business at the complex.
It is Millennium & Copthorne's intention to review all existing outlets with a view to developing several of its key restaurants and conference products.
The agreement between Chelsea, who won the Premiership for the second successive year last weekend, and one of the world's leading hotel groups, is the latest in a series of deals for Chelsea with blue-chip partners in Britain and around the world. It also represents the continuing refocusing of Chelsea's strategy around the core business of football following the decision to phase-out the Chelsea Village concept and group of businesses last year.
Chelsea Chief Executive Peter Kenyon said: "Millennium & Copthorne is an ideal partner for Chelsea Football Club. They are a major player in the international hotel business who can bring their expertise and experience to improving the quality and service of our facilities. This means a better product for our fans on matchday, and to the other visitors on non-matchday who are always welcome.
"The deal is also the next stage in getting Chelsea back to what it does best, being a successful football club. Football is our core business and we will concentrate all our resources and efforts in this direction, while key partners develop other aspects of the business with us."
Millennium & Copthorne's Group Chief Executive, Tony Potter commented 'We share a common vision with Chelsea Football Club of creating a unique guest experience at Stamford Bridge. We are delighted to be working with the Premiership Champions and look forward to managing the Club's two hotel properties and restaurants. We intend to position the hotels on a global platform and in the UK to complement our two existing hotels at Premiership Club locations, the Millennium hotel at the Madejski Stadium Reading and the Copthorne Hotel Manchester at Old Trafford.' The signing brings the total number of M&C hotels in London to 7 and 21 across the UK.
Together with recent announcements of new Millennium hotels in Beijing, Shanghai, Qatar and Abu Dhabi this brings the number of hotels within Millennium & Copthorne to 100 in 18 countries'.
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