Lake District hotel Holbeck Ghyll changes ownership

Lake District hotel and restaurant Holbeck Ghyll has been bought by businessman Stephen Leahy in a multi-million pound deal.​

The deal between Leahy and former owners David and Patricia Nicholson, was signed on Wednesday, fulfilling Leahy's 'lifelong ambition to own a hotel and restaurant'.

The 26-bedroom hotel overlooking Lake Windermere includes a restaurant run by head chef David McLaughlin which retained its Michelin star this year for the tenth year running.

Leahy, chief executive of the Select Group of Businesses, which includes Select Engineering Projects and Select Data Centres, said: "Ever since I was a teenager, when dining out without my parents was a novelty thing, the idea of owning my own hotel or restaurant struck me as a great lifestyle choice, far more fun than engineering. So when I decided - 25 years later - to make my foray into the hospitality industry, it had to be to go for the best example of what my local area had to offer."

Leahy hopes to turn Holbeck Ghyll into one of the country's most popular country house hotels and is already planning to introduce a number of new services such as luxury supercar hire, shooting and fishing breaks, helicopter airport transfers and lake cruises.

Paul Roebuck, who has worked in the hospitality industry for 36 years, joins as general manager from Wynyard Hall in Northumberland to manage the day to day running of the hotel.