The Wolseley Hospitality Group set to double estate as it plots international rollout
Dillip Rajakarier, chief executive officer of Thai hotel company Minor International, which owns TWHG, has told Bloomberg he envisages The Wolseley restaurants in Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai, as well as London’s financial district.
There are also plans to roll out Café Wolseley sites across other parts of China and the Middle East, as well as Manchester, Birmingham and Oxford in the UK.
Rajakarier said: “Our plan has always been two things. One is to grow the brand within the UK, and number two is to take the brand outside, because a lot of our international guests love the brand, whether it’s the Middle East or Asia.”
Minor had held a 74% share in what was previously known as the Corbin & King group since 2017, and acquired full control of the business in April last year following a prolonged and very public battle for ownership with the group's co-founder Jeremy King, who was ousted in the process.
It subsequently rebranded Corbin & King as The Wolseley Hospitality Group which, Minor said at the time, reflected the flagship London restaurant's 'wide-reaching international reputation'.
Following the acquisition, Rajakarier made clear his ambitions to grow the group's portfolio internationally, but dismissed suggestions that Minor wanted to roll out its different concepts on a mass scale.
“Our intention is not to dilute any of the brands,” he told BigHospitality at the time.
“Because we have invested in them and the people, the last thing we want to do is dilute that.”
As reported by Bloomberg, TWHG expects to open at least 10 restaurants under its titular brand, with Rajakarier suggesting that in total the group could grow from the seven sites it operates today to 20 or more in the next five years.
“We should be able to double the portfolio, easily,” he said.
Later this year, a second The Wolseley restaurant will open in King William Street in the City of London. Two more will shortly follow in Saudi Arabia and Dubai, Rajakarier said. Dublin is also a potential destination.
The group will also open Manzi's in Soho in the spring, the group's long-awaited pescatarian-focused restaurant that's been in development since before the Covid-19 pandemic.
