The head of Taiwan’s biggest hotel company hopes to revive the Regent brand – once famed for its luxury hotels such as the Beverly Wilshire in Beverly Hills – by bringing it back to Hong Kong, New York and London.

Steven Pan, chairman of the Formosa International Hotel Group, said that he was “committed to global expansion” after the company last week acquired the Regent luxury business hotel chain from privately owned Carlson Hospitality Group and Rezidor Hotel Group.

“It is very important for us to return to the old Regent cities,” said Mr Pan. The Regent once led the luxury hotel industry by pioneering concepts such as full-fixture bathrooms, villa resorts, and having luxury shopping malls inside the hotels – all now industry standards. But it has since become a small name in the industry.