Hugh Wontner
Sir Hugh Walter Kingwell Wontner
Wontner was appointed general secretary of the Hotels and Restaurants Association of Great Britain in 1933 at the age of 25. He shepherded the Savoy hotel group properties through the difficult World War II years, restoring their lustre after the war, and successfully preserved the group's independence against take-over bids in the 1950s, 1970s and 1980s. As chairman of the Savoy Theatre, he personally supervised its rebuilding after it was destroyed by fire in 1990.
Wontner was closely involved in the
Biography
Early years
Wontner was the elder son of the actor-manager Arthur Wontner and his first wife, the actress Rose Pendennis, whose real name was Rosecleer Alice Amelia Blanche, née Kingwell.[1] He was born Hugh Walter Kingwell Wontner Smith, but his father changed the family name in 1909, dropping the "Smith". Wontner was educated at Oundle School and in France, but was not, he said later, an academic pupil.[2]
After working in the
Savoy Group
Wontner's work with the Hotels and Restaurants Association brought him into close contact with
Carte died in 1948, and as his heir, Bridget D'Oyly Carte, did not wish to become chairman,[3] the Savoy board elected Wontner, the first person to combine the roles of chairman and managing director since the Savoy's founder, Richard D'Oyly Carte.[2] Wontner remained managing director until 1979 and chairman until 1984. He was elected life president of the group in 1990.[1]
When Wontner took over, World War II was at its height, and he and his staff had to cope with bomb damage, food rationing, manpower shortage, and, at first, a serious decline in the number of foreign visitors. After the U.S. entered the war, business picked up as the Savoy Hotel became a favourite of American officers, diplomats, journalists and others.
After the war, Wontner set about restoring the standards of the Savoy group to their pre-war glory, investing a great deal of capital in repairing war damage, upgrading facilities and enhancing the prestige of the hotels in the group.
Business methods
Throughout his career, according to The Times, "Wontner was admired by business associates for his acumen, integrity and loyalty while being accused by his critics of aloofness and arrogance. Beneath a genial manner there certainly lay steely determination and a fair degree of ruthlessness."[2] Under his leadership, the Savoy group successfully fought off several hostile takeover bids using, on occasion, controversial stratagems to defeat the bidder.[5] In 1953 the entrepreneur Charles Clore attempted to buy the Savoy group, and when his bid was rejected he sold his shares to the property developer Harold Samuel, who planned to redevelop the Piccadilly site of the Berkeley Hotel. Wontner temporarily transferred possession of the freehold of the Berkeley from the Savoy group to its staff pension fund until the bid was withdrawn.[2]
After this first attempted takeover, Wontner insured against future bids by issuing new shares in the group which carried 40 times as many votes each as the normal shares. These special shares were held by Bridget D'Oyly Carte, Wontner and their allies. The financial magazine
Other interests and honours
Wontner had many other interests, prominent among which was the City of London, where he was at various times the Master of two
He was the recipient of many international honours, including Honorary Citizen of
Wontner died of a heart attack in London, aged 84.[1]
See also
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Baker, Anne Pimlott. "Wontner, Sir Hugh Walter Kingwell (1908–1992)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004, accessed 16 September 2009
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k The Times, obituary, 27 November 1992
- ^ The Times obituary notice for Bridget D'Oyly Carte, 3 May 1985, p. 11
- ^ About £10 in 2009 terms: see "Five Ways to Compute the Relative Value of a UK Pound Amount, 1830 to Present"
- ^ a b The Economist, 12 December 1953, p. 45
- ^ a b "Wontner, Sir Hugh (Walter Kingwell)", Who Was Who, A & C Black, 1920–2008; online edition, Oxford University Press, December 2007, accessed 16 September 2009