Windermere hotel founded by celeb chef comes to market for £3m

Miller Howe, a country house hotel and restaurant in Lake District, has gone up for sale.

Real estate advisory firm Colliers International is seeking offers above £3m for the Windermere-based venue, which was established by celebrity chef John Tovey in 1971.

The sale is being undertaken by Colliers’ head of UK hotels agency, Julian Troup, who sold the property nearly 20 years ago for Mr Tovey.

Charles Garside, assistant editor of the Daily Mail, then managed the business with his brother and sister-in-law for some time, before selling it to its current owners, the Ainscough family.

An AA three-star hotel, Miller Howe is located on Rayrigg Road and features 15 en-suite bedrooms along with a restaurant, residents’ bar, conservatory and 30 parking spaces.

The business also comprises Miller Howe Cottage, a detached cottage property converted into additional letting accommodation offering shoreline lake views.

Planning permission is in place for two additional en-suite letting bedrooms and an extension of the conservatory.

Julian said: “Miller Howe is arguably the most high-profile and prestigious country house hotel in the Lake District National Park, offering unrivalled views over Lake Windermere. Its landmark status means we are confident of attracting strong interest from both domestic and international prospective buyers.

“Due in part to the fall in the value of the pound against the euro and the dollar, around 15 per cent of our UK hotel sales in the past 12 months have been to overseas buyers and there’s every indication that this trend will continue and indeed, strengthen.”