Lake District hotel sold to Ambleside business owners

A hotel property in Ambleside dating back to the 1800s has been sold to a local entrepreneurial family.

Commercial real estate firm Colliers International sold Ambleside Lodge on behalf of owner HMD Services Ltd to siblings Derek Hook, Raymond Hook and Dorothy Smith for £1.4m.

The trio are the owners of Zeffirellis, a cinema, restaurant and jazz bar located in Ambleside.

Built in 1875 as the residence of a general in the Army, Ambleside Lodge comprises 18 ensuite bedrooms in a two-storey property set in two acres of grounds and gardens.

Haydn Spedding, an associate director of hotels agency at Colliers International’s Manchester office, secured the sale.

He commented: “The acquisition of Ambleside Lodge represents a significant purchase for the Hook family who are already carrying out significant improvements to the property.

“This is one of a number of recent sales by Colliers International following a busy and encouraging summer of trading and many of these transactions are expected to complete before the end of 2015.”