Owner checks out of Lake District Hotel

A COUNTRY house hotel in the Lake District has changed hands for nearly £5m.

Iain Gartside, the owner of The Wordsworth Hotel and Spa in Grasmere, has sold the property to Shropshire-based Guyzance Hall for £4.95m, is a deal led by the Manchester specialist hotels team at real estate adviser Colliers International.

Dating from the 17th century when the original property was built as a shooting lodge by the Earl of Cadogan, The Wordsworth Hotel features 39 en suite bedrooms, a new restaurant with 80 covers and two AA Rosettes, a conference suite, staff accommodation and leisure facilities including a heated indoor swimming pool and health and beauty spa. The hotel sits in 2.5 acres with extensive gardens and 60 parking spaces.

The four-star Wordsworth has traded well in recent years with an annual turnover of around £2.4m during 2014. Mr Gartside, who has invested heavily in the property, has sold the business as he prepares to retire.

Julian Troup, head of UK Hotels – Agency at Colliers International said: “Julian Troup said: “The Wordsworth is one of the Lake District’s leading country house hotels in a prime location, in the hugely popular tourist destination of Grasmere, and represents an ideal addition to Guyzance Hall Ltd’s burgeoning portfolio of country house hotels.

“This is the fourth large Lake District hotel, including Grasmere Red Lion (49 bedrooms), Burnside Hotel Bowness (57 bedrooms) and Windermere Hydro (84 bedrooms), sold by Colliers International since the summer of 2013.

“Each of the four hotels was sold to a very different type of buyer with the only common theme being the continuing strong demand for hotels in the UK’s largest National Park”.

Guyzance Hall has a portfolio of country house properties including three hotels in Northumberland and others in Edinburgh and Kelso in the Scottish Borders.

Operations director Eric Kortenbach said: “We are delighted at this acquisition. It sits well with the company’s small portfolio, and I know that our major shareholders’ owners are very pleased.”