A spokesperson for Ineos has confirmed that the OGC Nice owners are “fully in the process” of attempting to acquire Premier League giants Manchester United.
Things are looking up for the Red Devils on a sporting level, but the club is still up for the sale after the Glazers, owners of the Premier League club since 2005, stated their desire to sell the club back in November 2022.
According to The Times, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the head of Ineos, has been keen on purchasing Manchester United since August and was vocal in his interest in the club. The Monaco resident had previously made an official bid to buy Premier League rivals Chelsea back in April 2022, but that ultimately failed, with the club being bought by Todd Boehly.
An Ineos spokesperson has now confirmed that the company are “fully in the process” of attempting to buy Manchester United. Ratcliffe is himself a fan of the club, having been born in Manchester.
It is unclear what the potential purchase of the club would mean for their current club, OGC Nice. Rules dictate that two clubs with the same owner cannot face off in European competition, meaning that should Manchester United qualify for the Champions League, Les Aiglons could only feature in the third tier of European competition, the Europa Conference League.
The Société des Bains de Mer has confirmed that outgoing Deputy Chairman Jean-Luc Biamonti will be stepping aside for his successor Stéphane Valéri earlier than expected.
In his traditional new year address to SBM staff on Monday 16th January, the long-running deputy chairman announced that he will be stepping down at the end of a Board of Directors meeting on 23rd and 24th January 2023. He was due to maintain his role until the board meeting of 31st March.
Biamonti has been director since 1985, chairman of the board of directors since 1995 and deputy chairman since 2013. On Tuesday, he congratulated his team on helping the company achieve excellent results. “With all my heart, I wish the best for this magnificent company and for all of you,” he said.
According to Biamonti, figures so far indicate that SBM is on track this financial year to break the 2007/2008 operating record.
Former National Council President Stéphane Valeri, who was due to step into his position on Monday 3rd April, will be officially appointed at the end of the Board of Directors in January.
Didn’t get a chance to read all the news that we published this week? Then listen to ‘This Week in Monaco’, our new Podcast where we talk to the journalists behind the headlines.
In this edition of This Week in Monaco, we talk about:
In revealing the results of a year still marked by Covid, the Grimaldi Forum’s General Director Sylvie Biancheri has presented an exciting schedule of events for Monaco’s largest culture and congress centre in 2023.
In front of 500 guests gathered for the annual Galette des Rois celebration in the entrance hall of the Grimaldi Forum Monaco on Tuesday evening, General Director Sylvie Biancheri presented the results of a “good, but not great” 2022 year, which was still notably impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The culture and congress centre hosted more than 100 events, compared to 82 in 2021, and noted the return of international clients and visitors. Some of its best performing events were Luxe Pack, which drew 9,500 visitors, an increase of 9% on the exceptional year of 2019, while Les Assises saw 3,000 participants and 9,400 B2B meetings.
According to Grimaldi Forum Chairman Henri Fissore, “2022 was overall very satisfactory and 2023 looks to be heading in the same direction, although we are never safe from a relapse,” he cautioned.
To return to the GF’s most successful years of 2018-2019, the Grimaldi Forum is aiming to reach 120 events this year. “We are not sure we will get there, but we’re working hard on it,” said Sylvie Biancheri. “Remote conferences will never replace face-to-face events.”
The main congresses this year include MAGIC in February, the Salon du Livre in April, Top Marques in June and the Festival de Television de Monte-Carlo also in June.
Humour features heavily on the GF’s 2023 schedule, with many French comedians taking to the stage, including Paul Mirabel who is first up this week with his sold-out performance. Others include Olivier de Benoist, Jérémy Ferrari, Baptiste Lecaplain, and Roman Frayssinet.
Thursday Live Sessions will continue with live music performances as well as a show by French singer Véronique Poupaud.
But the highlight of the year is the summer exhibition, which in 2023 is titled ‘Monet: In Full Light’. After the very unique Christian Louboutin: L’exhibition(iste) in 2022 featuring the extraordinary designs and wild imagination of the famous shoe designer Christian Louboutin, ‘Monet: In Full Light’ marks a return to the Masters for the Grimaldi Forum.
In looking ahead at the exciting expansion of the Grimaldi Forum as part of the new Maraterra district, Sylvie Biancheri also revealed that the marketing of the Grimaldi Forum’s new spaces has begun, for events to commence in 2025. The extpansion, mostly underground, is part of the new Mareterra district under development and will add an extra 50% exhibition space, equivalent to 6,000 sqm, which guests on Tuesday evening were able to experience in 3D.
As general manager of some of the world’s most famous hotels, including the Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo, Ivan Artolli has had many highs in his career, but few as momentous as receiving the Leading Legend Award from his peers.
As anyone who knows Ivan Artolli will tell you, he is a very charming and attentive man, a silver fox in good shape with a genuine smile. And after 35 years working in luxury hospitality, he also has a playbook that is as precious as the establishments he works in.
In November 2022, Artolli – a member of the European Hotel Manager Association since 2002 – received the Leading Legend Award from the Leading Hotels of the World (LHW), a distinction that recognises his passion to the industry for more than three decades.
Just over six of those years have been spent as General Manager of the famed Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo. Artolli saw the landmark hotel through some of its toughest years, including the €280 million renovation that took four years to complete. The Hôtel de Paris debuted its dramatic renovation in March 2019, showcasing an historic property that had been thoughtfully brought into the 21st century, while maintaining its soul and signature features.
The Hôtel de Paris and the Casino de Paris during Christmas 2022. Photo by Cassandra Tanti, Monaco Life
The Leading Legend Award, says Artolli, is significant because it is a mark of respect from an association that represents 400 of the finest luxury hotels in the world.
“This specific award is a once in a lifetime award, it is a real honour for me,” Artolli tells me as we sit in the Bar Américain at the Hôtel de Paris. It is 3pm, but the iconic cocktail bar is filled with people. The legend of Monte-Carlo is palpable here.
“It’s also a recognition of all the people that I work for, that I work with, and the teams that I am part of and manage. Without these successes, I would not have received the award.”
Artolli has worked at 11 Leading Hotels of the World, among them Florence, Sicily, London, and Milan… Basically, anywhere his three children could learn a foreign language.
He says much in the luxury hospitality industry has stayed the same over the years, but a lot has also evolved, especially the attitudes of his high-flying clients.
“I think what has really changed is the way clients expect to be served,” he reveals. “If you take the Hôtel de Paris 30 years ago, the service was very distinguished, kind of remote and distant. There was very little dialogue with the people you were serving. You just had to be ready so that when they called for you, you could deliver exactly what they were expecting.”
That’s all changed now, he says.
“People are asking for interaction. Clients who come to an establishment like the Hôtel de Paris want to be recognised as someone who has knowledge about the luxury hotel experience. If they are not familiar, they want to be reassured of their experience. Today, they expect a warm interaction; they want a team member to show empathy, to start some form of conversation, to show an interest towards them.”
Artolli gives the example of an old couple and a young couple who come to the Bar Américain. The young couple doesn’t need entertainment, he says, because they are entertaining themselves. They just need to be guided on the choice of drink, for example, if they see the barman shaking a cocktail; perhaps a suggestion of the cocktail of the month. But the elderly couple, he says, have been together for a lifetime. They have said everything that there is to say to one another. So, they need much more interaction and entertainment.
“This is when you really win over a client,” says Artolli. “If they were here the night before, you ask if they enjoyed the evening. What did they think of the music? Is there anything they would like the band to play tonight? You have to make them feel special. That’s how they become repeat clients for a very long time, because they are recognised.”
The Hôtel de Paris courtyard, photo by Cassandra Tanti, Monaco Life
It is not unusual for Artolli to welcome three generations of the same family at the Hôtel de Paris, such is its golden reputation.
Now that Covid travel restrictions have been lifted, most guests come from America, the Middle East, South America, Australia and New Zealand. It used to be the Italians and Russians, but even luxury travellers from India are starting to outnumber them. Who can forget the huge Indian weddings that take over the Place de Casino and its neighbouring establishments each summer, including the Hôtel de Paris?
“India is the only country in the world where top travellers said they plan to travel and spend even more next year.”
While the Hôtel de Paris has been attracting the planet’s most glamourous, high-profile names since it opened in 1864, many luxury establishments have sprung up over the past century. Today, Monaco has more competitors in the luxury market than ever before.
“Asia, South America… You name them. America is even emerging as a competitor with the Grand Prix options and Las Vegas. But the advantage we have is that we have an established reputation. And on top of that, security has become extremely important.”
London, for example, last year saw a massive increase in violent luxury watch thefts, mostly in wealthy neighbourhoods. Monaco, by contrast, has the lowest crime rate in the world thanks to a strong police presence and a zero-tolerance petty crime policy.
“The only destinations where you can actually show off your wealth by wearing expensive watches and jewellery is Dubai and Monaco,” says Artolli. “Anywhere else in the world you are at risk. And the way Monaco handled the pandemic shows that here, everyone plays by the rules.”
So, in the face of such legendary history and impeccable service, where does Artolli plan to take the Hôtel de Paris?
The future, he says, embraces technology to improve the customer experience: digitising the check-in and check-out experience for those who wish to use it; keeping the in-person experience for others who appreciate the human contact; the ability to control the entire hotel experience, from the opening of curtains to ordering room service and a taxi, from one digital device in each room… All are advances that are being offered by other leading luxury hotels in the world and would ensure the Hôtel de Paris stays competitive.
As our interview rolls to an end, Artolli brings me back to the Bar Américain.
“You feel so comfortable when you enter this bar because everything was designed to be perfect. The lighting is perfect, the sound is perfect, you can have a conversation while the band is playing. The lighting, during the day or night, makes you think you are more beautiful than you are in reality. That’s the objective. If you reach those objectives, you have done your job.”
Artolli acknowledges that he is part of a dying breed of luxury hospitality professionals.
“For the younger generation, it is all about them, what they want; it’s not what other people want. I remember when I was a child, we had a guest in the house every Sunday; people visiting relatives. Now, that has all changed. We have to recreate the interest in pleasing other people. In reality, hotel, restaurant and bar employees are like doctors and nurses. But we don’t take care of the body, we take care of the soul.”
Prince Albert, Princess Charlene and the twins have gathered around the tree for the annual Christmas portrait, “ending the year on a very, very high note”, according to the Prince.
The annual Christmas card photo, starring Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella, shows a smiling Princely Family elegantly dressed and posing in a front of a very large Christmas tree. It was shot by Palace photographer Eric Mathon.
The portrait marks the return of a glamourous family tradition that was halted last year while Princess Charlene was in recovery for health complications associated with a severe ENT infection that she sustained in South Africa. The Christmas card portrait in 2021 featured an artist’s painting of the Princely family (see gallery below).
In an interview this week with People, Prince Albert said: “I’m really proud of my wife, Charlene’s doing really well. As you can see for yourself, she’s been active in any number of different events. Charlene’s engaging more in public life and looking after things that she’s passionate about.”
He added, “She’s really enjoying doing things together with the kids, so this year is ending on a very, very high note. We’re truly thrilled about how things are.”
The text accompanying the Christmas card reads: “My family joins me in wishing you peace and joy for Christmas and a Happy New Year 2023” in English, French and Monegasque.
See Princely Family Christmas cards from past years below…
2021
2020
2019
2017
2015
All the headlines and highlights from Monaco, direct to you every morning
