Birmingham’s ‘oldest entrepreneur’ who created multi-million-pound hotel empire has died

A former reporter turned hotel magnate who turned a Sutton Coldfield old people’s home in a historic building into a flourishing hotel has died. Michael Webb, who hails from Streetly, channelled his nomadic upbringing into creating the multi-million-pound Webb Group hotel business.

His family said: “Mick passed away peacefully at home on Monday 25th November, 2024. As a beloved father, grandfather, great grandfather and great great grandfather, and an integral part of the history of Moor Hall Hotel, he will be missed very much.”

Moor Hall Hotel is the jewel in the crown of Webb Group, once owned by Bishop John Vesey, in the times of King Henry VIII, and with the future Queen Mary taught by the bishop at the site. In 1961 Michael bought the then old people’s home, with a dream of turning it into an Austrian-style hotel.

Read more: How 'oldest entrepreneur' turned £35k home into £11 million hotel

It was bought for ‘just’ £35,000 and in 2021 was said to be worth £11 million. Along with Moor Hall, Mr Webb’s family empire included The George Hotel bought in 2000 and Cathedral Hotel purchased in 2016, both in Lichfield, and The Gables Hotel near Bristol which he and his second wife Jean acquired in 2007. Webb Group now employed more than 200 people.

Mr Webb, who died aged 94, was also a pioneer involved with Best Western Hotels, which merged with Interchange Hotels, which he chaired, to help independent hotels market themselves effectively.

His life began in Edinburgh in 1930 and saw a disrupted younger life, attending 14 different schools by the age of 14, as his dad Arthur moved around in his job as a salesman with the Daimler Bus Company.

The family then settled in Streetly in Sutton where Arthur served in the RAF during the Second World War. After his stop start schooling, Mick had ‘little hope’ of passing his school certificates and instead studied Pitman’s shorthand at college in Walsall and became a reporter for the Walsall Times, the Sutton Coldfield News, and Sports Argus.

But his dad’s entrepreneurial spirit had rubbed off and after seeing that circulation staff earned more than reporters, Mick switched to selling newspapers to newsagents. He tried his hand at a manufacturing agency selling car parts to garages.

Then owning car showrooms including Walker & Ward, a car dealership in Cheltenham, petrol stations like 452 Motor Company in Castle Bromwich selling Vauxhall cars and petrol, and an exhaust centre business, Tube Investments.

He was involved with Aldridge Fibre Craft, which produced fiberglass and Lleyn Cruises, which arranged boat trips around the bay in Abersoch to see the seals. Then Classic Performance, specialising in classic car renovation and servicing and owned Broads Travel in Mere Green, when Robert Broad retired.

He established an aircraft company, training people to fly, sparked by being a manufacturer’s agent heading frequently across the country. Echoing Victor Kiam of Remington shavers fame - when the owner of an aircraft advised him, “Don’t buy the aircraft, buy the company,” Michael did just that!

But he will be best known for his move into the hotel industry, turning Moor Hall from a ‘gentlemen’s residence’ come care home into a late-night drinking venue then private members' club to ‘serve alcohol on Sundays’, before it was turned into a hotel.

Michael met his first wife, Janet, at Streetly Youth Club in the late 1940s, and they were married in 1953. They had three daughters, Angela, Helen, and Lyndsey, and built their own house in Little Aston Park. Mick and Janet divorced in the 1960s, and it was while working at his agency business that Mick met Jean, who became his second wife.

He and Jean had two children together, Jonathan and Louise. Mick is survived by nine grandchildren, eleven great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild.

Outside of business and family life, Michael was a motorsport enthusiast, both spectating and competing. He was a member and eventually chairman of Shenstone & District Car Club. He competed in many rallies, sprints, and meetings and particularly enjoyed the after-rally parties, ‘which were often as much fun as the rallies themselves’.

Anyone wanting to contact the family is urged to direct all communications to Rachel Kearney, Personal Assistant by emailing: rkearney@webbht.co.uk. Or calling 0121 334 2310.

A Webb Group spokesperson said: “Mick will be sorely missed by all the team. His legacy of innovation, hospitality, and community will be remembered and cherished by all who knew him.”