Home Grown Hotels appoints people director to support growth plans

13-Dec-2016 - Last updated on 26-Apr-2021 at 18:25 GMT

Steve Rockey (left) is the new people director at Home Grown Hotels, which includes The Pig at Combe hotel (right)

Home Grown Hotels and Lime Wood Group, the owner of The Pig Hotels and Lime Wood, have appointed a people director to 'nurture and develop new recruits and long-standing team members'.

Steve Rockey, formerly head of people at Byron and Big Easy Restaurants will take up the newly-created post in January.

In his role, Rockey, who has also worked for Granada, will oversee recruitment and development of staff across the hotel group as it continues to grow.

The company, led by chairman and CEO Robin Hutson, currently employs more than 500 staff across its five hotels under The Pig name; Lime Wood hotel in Hampshire and Portetta in the French Alps, which operate separately from The Pig hotels, employ around 200 people.

It said there were also two hotels under The Pig brand 'in the pipeline'.

Hutson said the appointment was a 'step change' for the group as it continues to grow.

“We are delighted to have recruited Steve who will spearhead the ‘people’ side of our hotels as we carefully develop our team to meet the challenges of business growth," he said. "The post-Brexit era is likely to be a tougher recruitment theatre, to thrive, we will need the most dynamic, creative, recruitment and development programs in the sector.

"Steve brings with him a wealth of experience from entrepreneurial hospitality businesses, I look forward very much to him joining the senior team.”