Oxford Castle Quarter, home to Malmaison hotel, hits the market for £30m

A prime leisure site in Oxford, which includes a Malmaison hotel, has been put on the market with a guide price of over £30.94m.

CBRE is marketing Oxford Castle Quarter, which fully tenanted by the hotel and over 39,000 sq ft of bar and restaurant operators including JD Wetherspoon, Slug & Lettuce and Namaste Village.

The 95-room Oxford Malmaison has a turnover-linked lease with the estate and benefits from Oxford’s eight million annual international visitors.

Oxford Castle Quarter dates back to 1071, when it was used as a royal castle. After serving as a prison between 1785 and 1996, the property underwent a major conversion and was first opened as a hotel and leisure complex in 2006.

Joe Hankin, senior director of capital markets at CBRE UK, said: “There are seldom opportunities to acquire assets as distinctive as Oxford Castle Quarter, which offers a long-let hotel and leisure investment opportunity located in Oxford’s city centre.

“This market is particularly strong and attracts significant investment from global capital, which will likely support diverse investor interest in Oxford Castle Quarter.”

Earlier this year it was reported that the private equity firm founded by Hand Picked Hotels owner Guy Hands was looking into an offer to purchase Hotel du Vin and Malmaison.

Terra Firma Capital Partners was named as one of several potential buyers looking at purchasing the hotel brands from Frasers Hospitality Group, which paid £363m for the two in 2015.

There are currently 18 Malmaison hotels and 19 Hotel du Vin properties across the UK.