Edwardian Group Limited, founded by Indian-born multi-millionaire Jasminder Singh, is the parent company of Radisson Edwardian Hotels which is partnered with the Radisson name leaving the group privately owned but with the benefits of belonging to a global hotel group.
All of the Edwardian Group Limited's upscale hotels are currently known as Radisson Edwardian however the announcement by Carlson Rezidor and Edwardian Group means all of the London, Manchester and Guildford sites will now be rebranded as Radisson Blu Edwardian.
The rebranding agreement leaves the current position of the two companies the same with no changes in ownership.
Customer confusion
Jasminder Singh, chairman and chief executive officer, Edwardian Group Limited, welcomed the announcement and said the rebrand would remove customer confusion and allow for better marketing while keeping the Edwardian identity.
“Radisson Blu is one of the world’s fastest growing upscale hotel brands and we are delighted to align Edwardian Hotels with such an iconic brand. In doing so, we gain vastly greater visible presence and remove any source of potential confusion for our customers and create a stronger identity, especially in Europe,” he said.
Carlson Rezidor
Edwardian Group Limited was founded by Singh in 1977 and now owns more than 2,500 hotel rooms across the UK. Carlson Rezidor, however, was created as a result of a merger earlier this year between hospitality and travel company Carlson and hotel group Rezidor.
Under the move the legal status and ownership structure of both companies remained the same but the Carlson Rezidor Group took charge of the global alignment and management of the brands to generate more profit and provide consistency for guests. The group is co-chaired by Hubert Joly and Kurt Ritter of Carlson and Rezidor respectively.
Hubert Joly, president and chief executive, for Carlson and co-chair of Carlson Rezidor said of the rebrand: “With this strategic move, we will now have 13 additional Radisson Blu hotels in the London market, one of the world’s most important markets. We are grateful to the Edwardian Hotels Group for their long standing partnership and look forward to continuing to build our relationship.”
Leicester Square
Carlson Rezidor's announcement comes just weeks after Radisson Edwardian hotels purchased the Odeon cinema in Leicester Square after acquisitions of hotels in Canary Wharf and Manchester at the end of last year.
There are 13 Radisson Edwardian hotels which will be rebranded as Radisson Blu Edwardian. The May Fair Hotel is also in the Edwardian Group but remains a stand-alone brand.