Laurence Beere buys Queensbury for £3.7m

Former Cliveden operations director Laurence Beere has bought the Queensbury boutique hotel and Olive Tree restaurant in Bath for £3.7m.

Beere became the official owner of the 29-room hotel and 60-seat restaurant on Monday, taking over the business from Stephen and Penny Ross, who had run the business for the past 15 years.

The Olive Tree holds two rosettes for its food under head chef Jason Horne, who will continue to work at the hotel. The hotel has held three red stars from the AA for the past 10 years, was named Town House Hotel of the Year 2000 in the Good Hotel Guide.

The move is Beere's first independent venture. He spent 10 years with the Savoy and a further six with the Cliveden Group, which he left in November 2002 following its purchase by Von Essen Hotels.

Plans for the hotel and restaurant include expansion into electronic marketing in the short term and refurbishment of the restaurant planned for early 2004. While Beere said he would be looking at the restaurant in time, he had no immediate plans to change the offer. He said: "At the moment the quality of the food is excellent and fits well into the market. I want to understand the market before I decide what I want to do. I'm not a star chaser."

Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, 3 - 9 April 2003