Von Essen snaps up LFH trio
Von Essen Hotels has paid £20m for most of the Luxury Family Hotels (LFH) group.
The deal adds the Woolley Grange hotel in Wiltshire, the Fowey Hall hotel in Cornwall, and the Moonfleet Manor hotel in Dorset to the company's portfolio of 17 properties.
Von Essen is also in advanced talks over LFH's Ickworth Hall hotel and Dower House apartments in Suffolk, both of which are controlled by a separate holding company. If this completes as expected, the total deal will be closer to £30m.
New owner Von Essen said it intended to retain the LFH brand and run it alongside its Classic and Country divisions.
Andrew Davis, executive chairman of Von Essen Hotels, said: "We are delighted to have acquired the properties owned by LFH, with the setting, style and ethos of the hotels complementing perfectly those already in the collection."
LFH was founded by Nicholas Dickinson and Nigel Chapman, who also set up Alias Hotels.