Grange Hotel Cumbria, UK Acquired by South African Private Equity Fund for £4.5m

Date: May 2018

Location: Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria, UK

Name: Grange Hotel

No. of Keys: 55

Seller: Hugh & Jenni Rushton, advised by Colliers International (Julian Troup) and lawyers Napthens LLP.

“We are seeing an emerging trend of increased demand for quality provincial hotel opportunities from a diverse buyer set,” Julian Troup said.

“These profiles range from international investors, attracted by weaker sterling and improving trading prospects, private buyers, attracted to the benefits of a lifestyle opportunity, to corporate investors, attracted to favourable returns and real estate alternatives.”

He added: “It is notable that since the beginning of 2016, over 20% of UK hotel sales completed by Colliers International were to overseas buyers.

“The devaluation of sterling following the EU Referendum means such transactions are now around 20% less expensive than a year ago, thereby making the UK hospitality market an even more attractive prospect for international buyers.

“We have seen a particularly marked increase in the flow of buyers from across the Asia region.”

Cumbria is the most productive county for the hotels team at Colliers with more than 30 hotel and hospitality sales in the past two years, he added.

Colliers International is first commercial property agency in the North to join Northern Powerhouse partnership.

Buyer: Fairtree Hospitality Real Estate Private Equity Fund.

The acquisition by Fairtree represents its eighth investment in the UK hospitality market, with more to follow.

The Fairtree Fund hotels’ portfolio includes Borrowdale Gates Hotel, Grange-in-Borrowdale, which they also acquired through Colliers International during 2017, and a number of hotels in the South-West.

Providence Hospitality, a UK-wide hospitality management company headed up by Joe Bester, has secured contracts to manage all the properties owned by Fairtree, in addition to its presence in South Africa.

Price: £4.5m

Price per Key: £81,818

THPT Comment: Colliers certainly have a stronghold in this type of sale, decent country house hotels of this size.

First Seen: The Business Desk