Little Big Man: Lord Forte global hotelier

John Swinfield's Big Business

English - October 20, 2021 07:00 - 20 minutes - 14 MB
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FORTE

Little Big Man: Lord Forte

The legendary Charles Forte built a hotel and catering empire which straddled the globe, only to see it snatched away in his twilight years in one of the City’s most ferocious takeover battles.

John Swinfield knew Forte, and his son Rocco, who has built his own portfolio of exclusive hotels. John Swinfield’s essay, based upon the newspaper articles that he wrote, and the television films that he made for ITV about the company and its masters, is a story of our times – one which encapsulates the astonishing rise of a business mogul who started with a milk bar and built a colossus and then suffered the heartbreak of seeing it wrenched away by a hostile predator.

This episode is dedicated to Sir Gerry Robinson who passed away after it was recorded.