Lions Quay Hotel in Oswestry sold for £10m

A winter ice rink is being planned in the grounds of the four-AA-star 82-bedroom Lion Quays Hotel & Spa in Oswestry, Shropshire, by the new owner.

Ashok Bansal, who has paid more than £10m for the property from the Shropshire Leisure Group, told the Shropshire Star: "I envisage a type of Narnia somewhere, where people can enjoy ice-skating, watch an ice show but also enjoy the magic of winter."

Bansal, a former surgeon who now owns a number of nursing homes in South Wales, also intends to refurbish 62 bedrooms, the Waterside restaurant and spa. RCapital, the owner of Shropshire Leisure Group, has recently completed a refurbishment of 20 of the bedrooms.

The sale of the hotel was handled by JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group. Charlie Macildowie, an associate at JLL, said: "Following the work undertaken by RCapital since 2013, Lion Quays Hotel & Spa today represents an established profitable business with numerous opportunities for future growth, both on the back of the buoyant regional UK hotel market and property enhancement initiatives.

"As a result, we received notable interest for the opportunity and were able to obtain a price in excess of the sellers' expectations."

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