South African private equity fund acquires Lake District hotel from asking price of £4.5m

Grange Hotel, a country house hotel in the Lake District, has been sold from a headline asking price of £4.5m by the specialist hotels team at real estate advisors Colliers International.

Acting on behalf of private owners Hugh and Jenni Rushton, Colliers sold the hotel at Grange-over-Sands to the South African private equity fund Fairtree Hospitality Real Estate Private Equity Fund.

The Grange Hotel offers 55 en-suite bedrooms, Four/Five lounges, “Carriages” Restaurant, a wide range of Conferencing facilities for up to 300 conference delegates and 200 wedding guests and a Leisure Club with indoor swimming pool and associated facilities.

The acquisition by Fairtree represents its eighth investment in the UK hospitality market. The Fairtree Fund already owns seven further hotels including Borrowdale Gates Hotel in Grange-in-Borrowdale, which the firm also acquired through Colliers International during 2017.

Providence Hospitality, a hospitality management company, has secured contracts to manage all the properties owned by Fairtree in addition to its presence in South Africa.

Legal advice for Hugh and Jenni Rushton was provided by Napthens LLP.

Joe Bester, director of Providence Hospitality, said: “Providence prides itself on the highest quality of customer care, and we are keen to maintain our reputation in these new locations.

“Our extremely attractive product offering, cutting-edge team and best-of-market pricing has been very successful, and we now manage 10 properties in the UK.”

Julian Troup, head of UK hotels agency at Colliers International, who secured the sale to Fairtree, added: “The acquisition of the Grange Hotel is a further example of us being able to sell the shares in the hotel owning company and in a highly confidential fashion.

“There was competing interest in the hotel and the decision was taken to proceed with a proven buyer eager to further expand in the area. We are seeing an emerging trend of increased demand for quality provincial hotel opportunities from a diverse buyer set.

“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).”

Julian added: “It is notable that since the beginning of 2016, over 20 per cent 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.”