Cockermouth Trout hotel sold off £4.85m asking price

The four silver-AA-starred, 49-bedroom Trout hotel in Cockermouth, Cumbria, has been sold to local entrepreneur Bill Dobie, who also owns the Washington Central hotel in Workington.

The property was confidentially launched to the market by real estate advisor Colliers with an asking price of £4.85m. The sale price was undisclosed.

Colliers acted on behalf of the former owner, believed to be entrepreneur Nigel John Mills, who is listed as a director of the business on Companies House.

The property has undergone an extensive £3m refurbishment programme in recent years.

The hotel achieved net annual revenue of around £2.6m during 2019 and features the Derwent restaurant and Terrace bistro.

The deal was brokered by Julian Troup, head of UK hotels agency at Colliers. He said: "The sale reflected continuing strong demand for quality hotel accommodation from both overseas and domestic buyers, with competing interest coming from a cluster of buyers."

Ashraf Ali of Square One Law Solicitors based in Newcastle advised the selling shareholders.