Gravetye Manor, the boutique hotel and restaurant in East Sussex that went into administration in January, has been bought by private investor and railway enthusiast Jeremy Hosking, who plans to continue running it as a hotel.
Administrators PricewaterhouseCoopers, who have been looking for a buyer for the 18-bedroom hotel in East Grinstead since January, confirmed today it had been bought by a 'new entrant' to the hotel market and that all 45 jobs there had been secured.
Karen Dukes, partner at PWC said: "We received a number of expressions of interest in this prestigious hotel from all over the world, showing there is still appetite for investing in the right businesses as we come out of a recession.
"Although we have still to review the claims of creditors, we are hopeful of securing a dividend in due course. We are of course, grateful to those creditors who have worked with us during our trading period."
Owners Andrew Russell and Mark Raffan received a flurry of support when it was revealed that administrators had been called in to take over the business. The pair had hoped to buy back the hotel, but were unsuccessful.
PWC said the hotel's sale should be seen as a 'positive sign' for the industry. Yesterday it predicted that hotel revpar will rise 3 per cent this year as business travellers and conference bookings return.
