Obituary Robert Breare
ROBERT Breare, the founder and former chief executive of portable hotel group Snoozebox, died last week at the age of 60.
Breare, who stepped down as chief executive of the beleaguered firm at the end of April, was found dead at his home last Friday by members of his family, according to reports.
A serial entrepreneur, Breare founded the Arcadian Group – a hotel developer that went on to include the Great Eastern and Malmaison hotels – and was chairman of the Scotsman Hotel Group. After selling Arcadian in 1998 he launched an audacious venture capital-backed bid for brewer Wolverhampton & Dudley (now Marston’s), but lost out in the final rounds.
Breare founded Snoozebox in June 2010, using old shipping containers to provide temporary accommodation for events such as the British Grand Prix. But just 11 months after bringing the firm to market in May 2012, Breare stepped down as chief executive, following his finance director Chris Upton out of the door days after announcing a profit warning.
A month later he resigned from the board. Breare was also chairman of retailer Ted Baker until January this year, when he stepped down after more than 11 years in the role to dedicate more time to Snoozebox.