LONDON, England– February 2, 2021– While many in the hospitality sector are still consolidating, one firm is investing further with a key strategic senior hire that suggests opportunities in the London market and indeed the United Kingdom are re-emerging.
CallisonRTKL (CRTKL), the global architecture, planning and design practice, has made a strong start to the year by appointing industry veteran Ramsay Ritchie as Associate Principal. The senior hire emphasizes CRTKL’s unwavering confidence and ambition to grow its London hospitality portfolio following widespread success across Europe and the globe.
Ritchie, most known for his work on London’s The Savoy, Four Seasons Baku and Regent Porto Montenegro, brings nearly 30 years’ worth of experience to the practice having been involved in a wealth of projects throughout London and key markets within Europe. During this time, he has built deep-rooted relationships directly with the biggest names in hotel development and investment.
Previously working as a Director at Reardonsmith Architects, and Lead Consultant for Grange Hotels, Ritchie has worked on a wide array of projects. This includes interior architecture and design at the V&A’s British Galleries, through to Loveday’s new luxury care home 41 Abbey Road in London as well as designing hotel portfolios that went on to be sold for over a billion pounds.
With his new role at CRTKL, Ritchie will be working closely with the firm’s fellow hospitality alumni, Todd Lundgren. He will be overseeing the practice’s London Hospitality portfolio with the intention of creating a central offer that supports the business’s architectural and cultural design offer in the mixed-use space and brings new solutions forward for the repositioning of commercial and retail assets.
Todd Lundgren, CRTKL Principal comments: “Ramsay’s eclectic high-level experience in London will make him an integral part of our hospitality team, bringing an additional offer to our clients. His unrivaled understanding of what the customer needs in this evolving marketplace will add a unique perspective to our projects. The hospitality sector is certainly not frozen, with many repurposing and revisiting assets while forward-looking to technological integration and mixed-use intervention. Interestingly, despite the ongoing pandemic, last year was CRTKL’s strongest year in hospitality in the last ten years. With Ramsay on the team, we only see this trajectory growing even stronger as we look to guide the resurgence of London hotels and seize the new opportunities that are opening up more broadly in the United Kingdom and European markets.”
Ramsay Ritchie, CRTKL Associate Principal comments: “With CRTKL’s exemplar capabilities within International resorts, interior design and residential-led healthcare, it is perfectly placed to execute the ambitions of hotel owners and operators that are ready to move beyond recovery and begin reactivating the industry with fresh perspectives. Having both a regional U.K. and European presence makes CRTKL primed for endless opportunities that I look forward to being a part of. This is an exciting next step in my career and I look forward to building on the firm’s existing strengths and making a mark on the fabric of London’s hospitality sector.”