New operator acquires well-known Leeds city centre hotel

A new hotel business has made its first purchase after agreeing a deal to take over the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Leeds city centre.

Belfont Hotels, which is a joint venture by the Thakerar and Dhamecha families, has bought the 89-bedroom hotel, which was being marketed before lockdown for £4.95m. The deal value has not been disclosed.

The business plans to further expand with other hotels within key UK cities.

Cosmopolitan recorded revenues of £1.9m in 2019 but was being sold by Peel Hotels as it sought to refocus on its remaining portfolio including the Midland Hotel in Bradford.

Keval Thakerar, director at Belmont Hotels said, “Leeds city centre generates such strong corporate and leisure demand across the year and, once our investment has been undertaken, we will have one of the best hospitality venues in the city.”

Akshay Dhamecha, director at Belmont Hotels added: “We look forward to working with the Thakerar Family on our first hotel acquisition and further growing the Belfont Hotel portfolio. The Cosmopolitan is a landmark building in the heart of the city and with further investment to the hotel, we are confident the hotel will be very popular. We are glad to have Countrywide Hotels as our management team where their experience has proved paramount.”

Christie & Co acted on behalf of Peel Hotels, in the sale of the Cosmopolitan.

Jeremy Jones, head of hotels brokerage at Christie & Co, who handled the sale, said, “When we launched The Cosmopolitan to the market earlier this year, we received a huge response from a whole range of parties.

“To be announcing the sale of such a substantial hotel at this time is evidence of the very real activity Christie & Co is seeing across the whole of the UK. Watch out for the announcement of further hotel sales in the weeks ahead.”