Can he repeat the trick with udget luxury hotels?
So when Sinclair Beecham bemoans his lack of knowledge about hotels while preparing to launch his first hotel in London’s Hoxton in September, it pays to take notice. Beecham, who started his working life as a cashier with NatWest, was barely 28 when he teamed up with his college friend Julian Metcalfe in 1986 to open their first Pret A Manger. Backed by a £20,000 bank loan, their aim was to open a sandwich bar whose products were superior to the tired lunch offerings available in the UK at the time. The concept took off almost immediately, although Beecham points out that it took four years to open the second shop. Today, the company operates 160 stores worldwide and employs more than 3,000 people. In 2000 the pair sold a 33 per cent non-controlling stake to McDonald’s, which enabled them to expand the chain to New York and Hong Kong. Beecham still owns a third of the business although he became a non-executive director in 2001 after returning from a stint in America. It was there tha
