Cedar Court Grand Hotel & Spa sold to Splendid Hospitality Group
It will retain the Cedar Court name for up to a year, after which it is expected to change its name to the Grand Hotel and Spa.
Originally opened as a hotel in 2010 following a £30m redevelopment by the Cedar Court Group, the Grade-II listed property was originally constructed in 1906 as the headquarters of North Eastern Railways.
The Cedar Court Group has decided to sell the hotel to concentrate on its core portfolio of four four-star hotels in Yorkshire.
Splendid, which owns 13 hotels with nearly 1,300 bedrooms in the UK, already has a presence in York with the Express by Holiday Inn. It is also developing a 101-bedroom property in the city under InterContinental Hotels Group's (IHG) Indigo brand.
The group largely operates its hotels under a mixture of brands from IHG and Hilton Worldwide, although the Vanbrugh House hotel in Oxford is run as an independent boutique property.
Shiraz Boghani, chairman of Splendid said: "The York hospitality market is an exceptionally robust one and quite simply, assets of this quality do not come along every day. More importantly, York is a top UK destination people want to visit both for business and for pleasure and we look forward to working with the hotel's management team to deliver a best in class service for our guests."
Kevin Henry, group managing director of Cedar Court Hotels, added: "The sale of our York hotel represents a good result for Cedar Court Hotels. We are delighted to have worked with the Boghani family who already operate a number of upscale hotels and we believe their experience will enable the hotel to continue to thrive and develop even further."
Christie + Co, which oversaw the sale of the hotel, said that bidding from national and international hotel groups and investors was "exceptionally competitive".
Jon Patrick, director of Christie + Co, said: "This transaction was undertaken both quickly and discreetly utilising our key industry and financial contacts. York is definitely a golden brick hospitality destination these days."
The Cedar Court Grand incorporates Hudson's and HQ restaurant, as well as the Grand Bar and Whisky Room.
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