Luton Hoo for sale at £16m

Luton Hoo, the 18th-century stately home in Bedfordshire, is for sale with a price tag of £16m. Owner Elite Hotels bought the mansion three years ago and applied for planning consent to convert it into a 115-bedroom hotel and leisure club but has never operated it as a hotel.

Managing director Graeme Bateman said that planning consent was imminent and added: "We knew the application was never going to be easy, because of Luton Hoo's Grade-I status. It was a very trying process, and after three years our enthusiasm for the project has been diluted."

The property has 1,059 acres of grounds, including a lake. Agent for the sale Knight Frank said that it was quite possible the building could be sold as a private house "of ambassadorial proportions".