New Place hotel sold by Principal to Bahrain-based investors
The 110-bedroom New Place hotel in Southampton has become the second hotel to be sold by the Principal Hotel Company in recent weeks, following its acquisition by overseas-operated Mokan Hotels Company.
Last month the 61-bedroom Hunton Park hotel in Watford was sold to SR Hotels off a guide price of £10m and will now operate under the Mercure brand following the signing of a franchise agreement with AccorHotels. Both New Place and Hunton Park previously operated under the De Vere brand.
Mokan Hotels Company, which was incorporated in the UK in January, has three Bahrain-based investors.
New Place will now be management by Legacy Hotels, which operates 17 hotels under a variety of brands and as independent properties.
Centred around a Grade I-listed Jacobean manor house dating back to the early 17th century, the hotel was extended in 1906 by Sir Edwin Lutyens and features a formal arts and crafts garden within the 32 acres of ground. It has a restaurant, the Lutyens bar, 33 meetings and events spaces, gym and indoor swimming pool.
Andy Townsend, chief executive of Legacy, said: "We are delighted to add such a respected and established regional hotel to Legacy's growing portfolio.
"The property is very popular with a diverse group of loyal corporate and leisure guests and is host to over 100 wedding and social events each year. The hotel has just completed a full refurbishment of its dedicated banqueting facility, the Arden Suite, and an upgrade to the Main House's ground floor restaurant and bar facilities."
Townsend added that New Place is the first of several new hotels for the Legacy portfolio this year.
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