Hotel tycoon Sir Reo Stakis dies

Sir Reo built a billion pound leisure empire

Sir Reo Stakis, the founder of the Stakis hotel and casino chain, has died.

The multi-millionaire entrepreneur died at Stirling Royal Infirmary on Tuesday morning, said a spokesman for the hospital.

The 88-year-old hotelier was just 14 in 1927 when he left his remote mountain home on Cyprus after the death of his father.

He arrived in Scotland with one suitcase of belongings and another of his mother's lace which he sold door to door.

He went on to build a chain of eating houses and hotels which grew into a £1.2bn empire.

Sir Reo Stakis: Leisure empire

Sir Reo lived in the grounds of the Dunblane Hydro in Perthshire with his wife Annitsa.

He had suffered a stroke in June.

Sir Reo was one of the richest men in Britain.

Over 70 years ago the Cypriot entrepreneur arrived in Glasgow from Kato Drys in a region of the island famous for lace-making.

He sold hand-made lace from a suitcase before he built his vast empire from a single restaurant in Glasgow's Hope Street which he opened in 1945.

Soon he had opened his first steakhouse and the legend that he "singlehandedly changed Scotland's eating habits" was born.

Household name

Then Sir Reo, a teetotaller who never gambled, decided to risk the family firm's money on casinos, buying the Chevalier in Glasgow's Buchanan Street in 1964 - Scotland's first casino.

In 1968, Stakis started to build its own hotels and four years later the group was floated on the London Stock Exchange.

The Stakis chain grew into a multi-million pound empire and employed 15,000 throughout the UK.

He sold the firm for £1.2bn two years ago to Ladbrokes - who renamed it Hilton.

The Stakis brand was a household name throughout the UK but particularly in Scotland, the centre of Sir Reo's business empire.

Stakis was bought by Ladbrokes

Sir Reo, who was knighted in 1988, had stepped down as managing director of the group two decades ago but he remained president of the company.

In 1991, Stakis plc ran into financial trouble after a rapid period of expansion choreographed by Sir Reo's eldest son Andros.

The company was put back on track but Sir Reo's business school-educated son was axed, ending the family's long involvement in the company's day to day running.

Sir Reo leaves a wife, two daughters, four sons and nine grandchildren.

His funeral will be held at the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of St Luke in Glasgow on Tuesday 4 September.