Daniel Thwaites acquires Langdale Chase hotel
Pub and hotel firm Daniel Thwaites has acquired the Langdale Chase hotel on Lake Windermere, for an undisclosed sum.
The Grade II-listed, 29-bedroom country house hotel was originally built in 1895 and has been run as a hotel since 1930. It has an eight-bedroom lake house, three-bedroom gatehouse, boat house and two jetties, and recently added a £1m, 24-bedroom staff building.
In 2004, the hotel won The Caterer's View with a Room competition for the "spectacular" aspect enjoyed from every room of the property.
Managing director Thomas Noblett, who is believed to have been the first British hotelier to have swum the English Channel, and his fellow directors decided to retire and sell the property after 25 years running the buisness.
The acquisition takes Daniel Thwaites's portfolio of hotels and inns to 21, including the nearby North Lakes Hotel & Spa in Penrith, the Royal Oak Inn in Keswick and the Crown Inn at Pooley Bridge. Langdale Chase will be part of Thwaites Hotels, of which there are seven hotels, six spas and one lodge. The company was named AA Hotel Group of the Year 2016 and acquired Middletons hotel in York last month.
Thwaites has just re-opened the Crown Inn after adding 17 bedrooms, a dining room and a roof terrace, and it is currently renovating the Royal at Heysham in Lancashire. In the next few weeks, it will start on the complete refurbishment and development of the Beverley Arms in Pontefract, West Yorkshire.
The sale of the hotel was handled by Gavin Wright, director of JLL's hotels and hospitality group. Daniel Thwaites was advised by Mark Hallam, partner at Addleshaw Goddard.
Chief executive at Thwaites Rick Bailey said: "We are delighted to add Langdale Chase to our growing family of hotels and inns. Its unrivalled location on the shores of Lake Windermere provides incredible views of some of the Lake District's most spectacular scenery so it fits well with our desire to build a collection of outstanding properties in great locations."
Wright added: "The Langdale Chase hotel provides one of the finest locations in the Lake District which generated high levels of interest in the property."
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