GRANADA hotel and leisure group, which in January swallowed up the Forte hotel empire in a £3.8 billion hostile takeover, is selling the luxury Forte hotels, but keeping the Meridien chain.

Granada said the sale of Forte's 18 luxury hotels would "commence shortly". Among them are such prized jewels as the George V in Paris, the Plaza Athenee in New York and London's Grosvenor House. But the 85 four star Meridien hotels, bought from Air "France by Forte in 1994, will not be sold as previously planned.