Leading Hotels Forms Joint Venture

The Leading Hotels of the World Ltd., New York, has announced the formation of The Leading Trust, a real estate investment vehicle that will be managed by Leading Hotels Fund Advisors, a partnership between affiliates of Leading Hotels and Trinity Hotel Investors LLC, also based in New York.The trust is aimed at investing in luxury hotels to preserve their distinctive character and charm, Leading Hotels said. The company said the acquisition of hotels by the trust represents "the culmination of a five-year business plan" to evolve from a hotel representation organization into "a full-service provider of products and services to the luxury hotel market sector." The trust will offer hotels a chance "to preserve their character and protect them from forced sales to multinational chains," according to Leading Hotels. The company can be found on the Web at http://www.lhw.com.