Investors looking to gain a foothold in the UK can find some solid deals outside of London.
A portfolio of four country house properties within the Prima Hotel Group has been put up for sale for £18 million after the owning companies went into administration four months ago.
According to The Caterer, AlixPartners Services was appointed as the administrator of Fontenhall Limited, Nunsmere Hall Limited and Prima Hotels Limited in May, after what is believed to have been a failure by the companies to meet debt commitments. Prima Hotel Group was founded by Irish businessman Liam Walshe.
The hotels now on the market include the 89-bedroom Hellaby Hall hotel (pictured) near Rotherham; 55-bedroom Stannleylands hotel in Wilmslow, Cheshire; the 36-bedroom Nunsmere Hall in Northwich, Cheshire; and the 36-bedroom Quorn Country hotel in Quorn, Leicestershire.
The hotels, all of which have been awarded four AA stars, are being marketed by international real estate advisor Savills and are available either as a complete portfolio or as individual assets.
In the southwestern county of Devon, Torquay Palace Limited, also represented by Savills, has put the town of Torquay's biggest hotel up for sale at an asking price of £10 million.
According to the local Torquay Herald Express, the 141-room Palace Hotel has 17.6 acres of grounds and includes extensive conference and event space catering for up to 1,000 event attendees. Outdoor leisure facilities include tennis and squash courts, swimming pools, a fitness suite and a nine hole golf course.
Planning permission for 137 residential apartments, further hotel rooms and a new indoor swimming pool and spa has already been granted. A three bedroom cottage located in the grounds is also included in the sale.
Martin Rogers, hotels director at Savills, told the paper that the historic hotel could be operated independently or under a brand. "The scope for further development also provides excellent potential for enhancing long term income," he said.
Meanwhile, a boutique hotel in Leeds has been put up for sale shortly after its development was completed.
Currently owned by RBS, The New Ellington Hotel is up for sale through Colliers International with an asking price of £2.5 million. The property is in the city center and includes conference facilities and a bar.
“It's not often that hotels in the center of Leeds come to the open market," Julian Troup, head of UK hotels at Colliers, told Business-Sale.com, "so we expect to see a great deal of interest from a wide range of potential buyers eager to acquire a piece of real estate together with a successful hotel business in one of the UK’s fastest-growing cities.” Troup added that the city center is set to be “transformed” over the coming years with a new mixed-use development in the works.
But the best value of all may be found in Yorkshire: Colliers is also selling the Simonstone Hall Hotel at Hawes in the Yorkshire Dales National Park at an asking price of £995,000.
The property covers two acres and has 18 rooms as well as event facilities and a restaurant.