Savoy board to decide on control

A DECISION by the Savoy Hotel group on whether to continue fighting for independence may be taken at next week's board meeting, writes John Shepherd.

A strategic report on the company's future has been compiled and sent to some directors by Giles Sheppard, managing director. The report is said to claim that creeping control of the group by its rival Forte would not be of commercial benefit in the long term.

Forte, headed by Rocco Forte, controls 68 per cent of Savoy's shares but only 42 per cent of votes.

Morgan Stanley, the US investment bank, has devised a scheme to end the feud by creating the world's largest luxury hotels group through a joint venture. The scheme would link the Savoy and other hotels with some of Forte's Exclusive hotels, including the Grosvenor House and the Hyde Park in London, and Georges V and Plaza Athenee in Paris.