Two hotels check in to JW Lees portfolio
Family-owned brewer and pub operator JW Lees has acquired two hotels as it pushes ahead with its expansion strategy across the North West.
The Middleton-based company, now in the hands of the sixth generation of the family, has snapped up The Stanneyland’s Hotel in Wilmslow, Cheshire and The Boddington Arms in Samlesbury, Lancashire.
The Stanneyland’s has been bought from The Mere Boutique, with Ryan Lynn at Christie & Co brokering the deal and The Boddington Arms has been purchased from Greene King, with David Sutcliffe of Fleurets negotiating the sale.
William Lees-Jones, JW Lees managing director, said: “These two acquisitions follow our strategy of investing in quality pub and hotel businesses in the North West; between them they add 72 more bedrooms to our managed business, taking our bedroom numbers to 287 rooms under company management.
“Both hotels have substantial food and beverage businesses which we can add value to with the JW Lees offering. We will immediately integrate the Stanneyland’s Hotel into the JW Lees hotels business, while we have closed the Boddington Arms for a complete £1m+ refurbishment to re-open in April as ‘The Bluebird Inn at Samlesbury’, named after Donald Campbell’s world-record breaking Bluebird K7 boat whose Bristol-Siddeley Orpheus turbo-jet engine was built by British Aerospace in Samlesbury.”
Lees-Jones also said the company is investing in a number of substantial refurbishments in its core estate including The Alderley Edge Hotel, Anglesey Arms Hotel Menai Bridge, Groes Inn Conway, Huntsman Inn Holmfirth and Trearddur Bay Hotel.
“With these two new acquisitions and major developments carried out this year we will have invested over £18m in our business in the year to March 2018,” he said.
“The re-brand of our beers launched in November 2017 has been well received by customers and we will be commissioning a new small-batch 10-barrel brewery, called The Greendoor Brewery, and bottling plant in the Spring. These are exciting times at JW Lees and we look forward to continuing to grow our business.”
