UK privately-held group Topland has appointed Lionel Benjamin as director of hotels to lead its strategy to build a £1 bn (€1.2 bn) hotel business.

UK privately-held group Topland has appointed Lionel Benjamin as director of hotels to lead its strategy to build a £1 bn (€1.2 bn) hotel business.

Benjamin joins from Ability Group where he headed its hotel and leisure division for three-and-a-half years. Prior to that he was senior director of asset integration at Hilton Worldwide where he was involved in the sale of 13 Hilton hotels including a European portfolio.

In December Topland, which is led by Sol Zakay, acquired the parent company of Menzies Hotels out of administration for close to £85 mln. The acquisition saw Topland acquire 12 predominantly four-star hotels located across the UK, from Aberdeen to Bournemouth.

Topland said the deal was part of an ambitious plan to build a £1 bn hotel business. The group currently owns 21 hotels, including Bath's Royal Crescent Hotel, the Brighton Metropole, the Glasgow Hilton and a portfolio of Thistle Hotels, six in central London and one in Edinburgh.

Commenting on the plans, Zakay said: 'The primary focus will be on the UK but we will also look at single assets or portfolios in continental Europe or further abroad.'

Topland’s £300 mln lending business is also expected to capitalise on Benjamin's expertise with a number of funding deals planned for the hotel sector later this year.