Swallow Hotels buys Northumberland hotel for £4m-plus

The Best Western Derwent Manor hotel is the newest acquisition for the voracious London and Edinburgh Swallow Group, which paid more than £4m for the property.

The hotel occupies 20 acres of Northumberland countryside at Allensford in County Durham where it overlooks the Derwent Valley.

Along with 47 en-suite bedrooms, the hotel has four function rooms (the largest able to accommodate 300 guests), the 42-seat à la carte Guinevere's restaurant, and the country-pub style Grouse and Claret residents' lounge , which has a maximum seating capacity of 150.

The hotel, which has built up a reputation as a wedding venue, also operates a leisure club with an indoor heated swimming pool, a children's pool, a spa bath, a sauna and a fitness centre.

The Newcastle office of Christie + Co handled the sale for Swallow Hotels, which now has more than 150 properties across the UK.

By Angela Frewin