AS the dust settles on the Pounds 3.9 billion sterling Forte/Granada shoot out, the defeated Sir Rocco Forte was quick to make good his promise that "I'm not going to sit around on my backside".
With Granada committed to selling off Forte's luxury hotels, Sir Rocco, on the basis that every seller needs a buyer, wants to be first in the queue.
He is keen on "recommissioning" 18 exclusive hotels back under the Forte banner and is already looking for financial backing in the City. Although Forte family interests will receive about Pounds 300 million from Granada for their 8.4 per cent shareholding, this is small potatoes when set against the Pounds 2.5 billion required to finance such a deal. Should the Forte Phoenix become airborne, a publicly quoted Forte Mark 11 could arise from the ashes of the old.
The catalyst in the Granada bid proved to be a large institutional shareholder, Mercury Asset Management, which, with a significant 15 per cent share bloc in Forte, opted to turn its back on Sir Rocco.
Granada must now make good its promise to enhance profitability at Forte. Securing top market price for unwanted assets will he its first challenge.
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