Robert qualified as Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors whilst at Matthews & Goodman, before moving to Whitbread as Strategic Development Manager of Whitbread hotels including both Marriott and Travel Inn (now Premier Inn). In 2004 he joined Travelodge following their acquisition by Permira Private Equity and during his 12 years he developed and implemented a growth strategy for London taking the hotel group from 11 hotels to over 70 by the time he left.
Robert subsequently joined a low-profile family-owned group and took the role of Property Director of a circa £500m freehold property portfolio, which encompassed every use class including hotels, serviced offices, farms, offices, residential, retail and telecoms. After leaving the group in 2017, he has taken the opportunity to work with a small portfolio of companies, including a six-year stint as Property Director of a flex office group and most recently Head of Property and Non-Executive Director of Lamington Group.
Lamington Group is an independent family-owned business with over 55 years’ experience developing, managing and operating apartments and hotels. With over £450m GDV of live development projects across the UK, the group has an award-winning roadmap to Net Zero and were the winner of the EG 2023 Sustainability Award. Their Chiswick hotel was the world's first operational and embodied net zero hotel, and they are expecting the recently opened room2 in Belfast to be the second hotel in the world to achieve WELL Platinum. Earlier this year, the group submitted planning for a 32-story room2 in Manchester, aiming to be a vision of sustainability in the sky.