Business life continues for Stephanie Booth

llanblogger brings you the following story courtesy of the Leader

STEPHANIE Booth has no intention of calling time on her business career.
The colourful businesswoman and one-time prospective Wrexham FC owner (pictured right) has spoken of her delight at seeing all four of her hotels in the Llangollen Hotels chain sold, more than a year after that part of her business empire suddenly collapsed.
In a rare interview, Mrs Booth has also revealed the philosophical approach she adopts to life following the hotel group’s collapse.
Mrs Booth, 66, insists she is not contemplating retirement and is pursuing other business avenues.
“I’ve been overseas for a few weeks but I can’t say anything more than that,”she told the Leader.
“I really do not think we are ready to retire.
“It is my belief we should keep going, it is not in our nature to retire.”
In July 2011 Llangollen Hotels’ parent company Global Investment Group was placed into administration.
This led to four hotels in the Llangollen and Llandegla areas being put up for sale, with all having now been taken over and continuing to operate as hotels.
Mrs Booth, who ran the hotels with husband David, has expressed her pleasure at seeing her former colleagues stay in work.
“Although this doesn’t have any direct impact on me personally, I am pleased to see they have been sold,” she said.
“My concern is for the staff and I am just glad their futures all appear to have been secured.
“From what I have been told the people that work at the hotels seem to be happy and like the new owners. I am very glad to hear that.”
Reflecting on her time in the hotel trade, Mrs Booth said: “We were never remote bosses.
“The workers called us by our Christian names. They were both colleagues and our friends.
“We did hotels because we loved them, we had a really good run. I loved to see happy customers, it was really rewarding but hard work.
“What happened in the end was out of our hands.”
Mrs Booth has continually insisted the collapse of the hotel group was due to issues over settling a large tax bill.
She said the couple are now only involved in one hotel, The Anchor in Ruthin.
The Wynnstay Arms in Wrexham closed suddenly in July last year, leaving staff out of work and couples’ wedding day plans left in tatters, but it has since reopened.
The closure of The Wynnstay came just months after Mrs Booth emerged as a contender to buy Wrexham FC, with the club eventually being taken over by the Wrexham Supporters Trust.
Looking back on the events of 2011, Mrs Booth has a philosophical attitude.
“The world is a cruel place,” she said. “Nobody promised us it would be easy.
“I believe you cannot live life with regrets. I don’t hate anybody, I think that destroys you.
“I always recognise we live in a very privileged society in Britain.
“I’m always conscious I could have been born in a very poor country, but we are very privileged here.”