Splendid deal for luxury hotel

A Grade two listed luxury hotel in York has been sold to Splendid Hospitality Group.

The Cedar Court Grand Hotel & Spa was built in 1906 as the headquarters for North Eastern Railways and redeveloped following a £30m investment as a luxury hotel by Cedar Court Group, opening its doors for business in 2010.

Bidding from national and international hotel groups and investors was “exceptionally competitive”, according to property consultancy Christie + Co.

Splendid Hospitality Group, which will take ownership of the hotel from the end of August, controls a portfolio of 13 hotels with nearly 1,300 bedrooms located in London and across the UK.

The group is an existing investor in the York hospitality market. The company owns the Express by Holiday Inn near Monks Cross and is currently on site developing a boutique hotel in Walmgate, which will operate under IHG’s ‘Indigo’ brand.

Kevin Henry, group managing director of Cedar Court Hotels, says: “The sale of our York hotel represents a good result for Cedar Court Hotels and is part of our wider group strategy to concentrate resource and investment into our core estate of 4-Star hotels. We are delighted to have worked with the Boghani family who already operate a number of upscale hotels and we believe their experience will enable the hotel to continue to thrive and develop even further.”

Shiraz Boghani, chairman of Splendid Hospitality Group, adds: “The York hospitality market is an exceptionally robust one and quite simply, assets of this quality do not come along every day. More importantly, York is a top UK destination people want to visit both for business and for pleasure and we look forward to working with the hotel’s management team to deliver a best in class service for our guests.”

Christie + Co Director Jon Patrick, who coordinated the sale, said: “This transaction was undertaken both quickly and discreetly utilising our key industry and financial contacts. York is definitely a golden brick hospitality destination these days and the sale of Cedar Court Grand Hotel & Spa continues our recent work in the city which has included the Hampton by Hilton in Toft Green, the Indigo in Walmgate, as well as the former City of York Council offices in St Leonard’s Place.”

Cedar Court Hotels was advised by David Hardless and Richard Firth from Park Place Corporate Finance and Jonathan Simms and Maxine Burton from Clarion.

Photo courtesy of Punch Creative.