Marston Hotels buys Crewe Hall

Kent-based Marston Hotels has boosted its portfolio to 16 properties with the £16m acquisition last Saturday of the 55-bedroom Crewe Hall hotel in Cheshire.

Christie & Co was the agent for the sale of the Grade I-listed Jacobean stately home, built in 1615 and set in 33 acres of parkland.

Marston director John Cotter said the hotel fitted into the top-end of its largely four-star collection.

The property was originally the seat of the Earls of Crewe and was owned by the Duchy of Lancaster until it was sold to private individuals in 1998. The previous owners added a west wing and the property has planning permission for further extensions.

Crewe Hall includes the Ranulph restaurant and a range of conference and banqueting rooms. It is one of the North-west's premier wedding venues.

Further expansion plans by Marston Hotels include a £7m extension at the Hampshire Centrecourt hotel in Basingstoke, Hampshire, which is nearing completion. A new four-star, 120-bedroom hotel in Cambridge is now half built and will open next June.

The company has also acquired two sites to build more 120-bedroom, four-star hotels in Nottingham and in the South of England, which will represent an investment of about £15m apiece.