Satish Chatwani

Satish Chatwani’s family arrived in the United Kingdom from Uganda in 1970 as part of the Idi Amin exodus. At the time, Satish was already in the UK studying accountancy. He became a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in 1976, a Fellow of the Association of Certified Accountants in 1983 and a Fellow of the Association of Management Accountants in 1983.

From 1972 to 1980, he worked with Thomson McLintock (now KPMG) and qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1976. In 1981, together with his wife Hansa Chatwani, who is also a Chartered Accountant and member of the Institute of Taxation, they established our own accountancy practice. Chatwani & Co. Kanta Enterprises Limited was established in 1982 and in 1983 acquired the distribution business Davis & Dann Limited, which remains a wholly owned subsidiary of Kanta Enterprises Limited.

In 1982 they acquired Bedford Corner Hotel on Tottenham Court Road for approximately £1.5 Million. In 1983 they acquired the former Barclays Bank Hotel, now the Mercure London Bloomsbury, and converted it into a hotel. Over the years, Davis & Dann Limited has grown from a business with turnover of approximately £3 million to around £50 million. The appreciation in value of the hotel portfolio and continued reinvestment into commercial property and hospitality has enabled the family businesses to expand substantially. On 4 July 1995, Fairview Hotels Limited was incorporated and acquired the hotels previously owned by Kanta Enterprises Limited. This provided the platform for further expansion within the hospitality sector.

Today, the group operates 16 hotels franchised with Accor brands including Novotel, Ibis and Mercure, together with IHG brands including Holiday Inn, VOCO and Garner Hotels. In addition to the hotel and distribution businesses, the family has acquired and developed a substantial commercial property portfolio over many years through a combination of acquisitions, disposals and refinancing strategies.