Editing Granada plc (section)

=== Catering business ===
Aside from media, Granada's other main strength was in the catering business. It opened its first [[motorway service area]] in 1964, and established a chain of service areas across the British [[motorway]] network. Granada was the first British service station operator to move away from fancy dining and instead offer a basic but quicker service. Soon, all the other operators took on this idea. Granada's hospitality arm was at its strongest in the 1990s under [[Gerry Robinson]]'s chairmanship of the group. At one time the company owned and operated 75% of the motorway service areas.{{cn|date=August 2024}} It expanded into other areas of catering, including most notably the acquisition in 1996 of [[Forte Group]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_/ai_n9637762|title=Granada buys maximum stake}}</ref> This included rival operator [[Welcome Break]] (later sold due to regulations), roadside chains [[Little Chef]] and [[Happy Eater]], and Forte's hotels (including [[Travelodge UK|Travelodge]] and [[Le Méridien]]).

In July 2000, Granada merged with [[Compass Group]] plc to form '''Granada Compass plc''', as part of a strategy to separate Granada's media and catering interests.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/granada-compass-merger-designed-to-avoid-paying-pound15bn-tax-liability-627852.html|title=Granada Compass merger 'designed to avoid paying £1.5bn tax liability' - Business News, Business - The Independent|website=[[Independent.co.uk]] |date=17 January 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110117041017/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/granada-compass-merger-designed-to-avoid-paying-pound15bn-tax-liability-627852.html |archive-date=17 January 2011 }}</ref> The demerger took place in early 2001, with the media business becoming '''Granada Ltd'''.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/4475861/Granada-outlines-demerger-proposals.html|title=Granada outlines demerger proposals|last=Wootliff|first=Benjamin|date=19 December 2000|work=The Telegraph|access-date=8 June 2017|language=en}}</ref> The motorway service stations were soon rebranded as [[Moto Hospitality|Moto]].