Italian-born hotel magnate Charles Forte, who began in a milk bar in 1930s depression Britain and ended with a hotel empire spanning the world, died in his sleep yesterday aged 98.

"He died peacefully at 7 a.m. this morning at his London home," said a spokeswoman for the company he built.

The founder of Forte Plc, formerly Trusthouse Forte, never entertained any other career and created a multi-billion pound empire employing thousands of people across the globe including Malta where Trusthouse Forte owned the Phoenicia Hotel in Floriana and the Imperial Hotel in Sliema some years ago.

Born in Monforte Casalaticco, Italy, Forte retained great pride in his Italian origins but as a naturalised British citizen he was almost aggressively English, sporting a deerstalker hat and tweed suit on country jaunts.