This volume investigates the rapid expansion and organizational evolution of the Grand Metropolitan hotel and catering conglomerate during its formative twenty-five-year period. W. J. Reader, a noted historian of business and industry, utilizes internal company archives and financial records to document the firm's transition from a niche hospitality provider to a diversified multinational corporation. The text provides a rigorous analysis of the strategic acquisitions, management philosophies, and market pressures that defined the company's growth trajectory between 1962 and 1987.

Historians and business scholars recognize this work as a comprehensive case study of post-war British corporate development. The text is frequently cited for its meticulous attention to detail and its objective assessment of the challenges inherent in managing large-scale hospitality conglomerates.