Care home in Southend to be transformed into £2.5m hotel

The Raymond House care home in Southend, which officially closes today (30 November), will be transformed into a 37-bedroom boutique hotel following a £2.5m investment.

Developer Sadiq Chikte will team up with his brother-in-law Omar Rahimi and father-in -law Jawed Rashid for the project, which is expected to open as a hotel by late summer 2016.

The trio said there is a high demand for luxury ‘London style' boutique hotels in Southend and plan to develop the site on Clifton Terrace, according to the Echo.

Work will involve a complete refurbishment of both the interior and exterior of the 1970s care home, which Rashid has owned since 2013.

Chikte, who specialises in events management and venue consulting, including London hotels, said: "There are a lot of hotels in Southend, but there aren't enough to keep up with demand, and there is a lack of boutique hotels here.

"Tourists from Europe flying into Southend Airport will be very, very interested to stay in a luxury hotel."

The project will create around 20 jobs.