Fentum plans collection of luxury hotels

Hotelier Haydn Fentum has announced plans to create a new collection of luxury hotels following the £41m sale of his three-strong Furlong group last week.

Furlong's four- and five-star hotels - including the Lygon Arms in Worcestershire - are now owned by Dawnay Shore Hotels (DSH), the group which last year bought Paramount hotels.

Fentum will work as a consultant with DSH's Paramount while continuing to build up his other business, Bespoke Hotels, which manages seven properties, including the Lords of the Manor hotel in Gloucestershire, the Home House private members' club in London, and two golf clubs.

Fentum says he now plans to raise a further £25m to establish a new joint-venture company that buys large, luxury hotels for Bespoke to manage.

Dawnay Shore's acquisition of Furlong bumps up the group's portfolio to 20 properties - a mix of four and five stars with a bedroom tally of 2,500 rooms, half the group's stated target of 5,000 bedrooms.

The Furlong hotels will form the core of a new eight-strong signature group that will bring together the top hotels in the Paramount line-up.