Stordalen returns to scene of his biggest failure
And now, having learned his lessons, the hotel billionaire is a roaring success
[OSLO] Billionaire Petter A Stordalen, Scandinavia's biggest hotel owner, says the one time in his career he did everything wrong ended up being a lesson in how to protect his fortune.
The Norwegian national - who won a reputation for building his hotel empire at breakneck speed last decade - learned his lesson after rushing into the Danish market. He lost 800 million kroner (S$168 million) from 2000 to 2011 following a property bust that forced him to sell all 12 hotels there. He has now returned to the scene, cherry- picking two hotels in Copenhagen.
"Last time we did business in Denmark, we did everything wrong," Mr Stordalen, 50, said in an interview over breakfast at The Thief, his newest six-star hotel in Oslo. "I expanded too fast. This time we do it differently with brands that are better defined, stronger management and a plan to stay only in Copenhagen."
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