Majority of Von Essen hotels now under offer
According to property agents Christie + Co, a number of both experienced operators and wealthy investors have submitted offers for the sites on a sub-group or individual basis.
The interest follows the collapse of the company after it fell behind on debt repayments of more than £250m.
The properties currently under offer include:
Amberley Castle, near Arundel, West Sussex
Buckland Manor, Near Broadway, Gloucestershire
Cliveden, Taplow, Berkshire
Lower Slaughter Manor, Lower Slaughter, Gloucestershire
The Royal Crescent, Bath
The Samling, Windermere, Cumbria
Ston Easton Park, near Bath
The Elms, Worcester
Fowey Hall, Fowey, Cornwall
Ickworth, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
Moonfleet Manor, Weymouth, Dorset
Woolley Grange, Bradford upon Avon, Wiltshire
Bishopstrow House, Warminster, Wiltshire
The Greenway, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire
Lewtrenchard Manor, Okehampton, Devon
The Mount Somerset, Taunton, Somerset
New Park Manor, Brockenhurst, Hampshire
Washbourne Court, Lower Slaughter, Gloucestershire
Thorn Island Fort, Powys, Wales
The interested parties have remained anonymous while the sale process is underway.
Chris Day, managing director of Christie + Co, said: “As we anticipated, the portfolio attracted a great deal of interest nationally and internationally from a variety of operators and investors.
“Whilst portfolio interest was received, it was decided that the route to best value was through a sale on a sub-group and individual basis. The hotels that have not yet received acceptable offers have been reduced in price and will be immediately re-launched to the market — this is quite typical in multi-asset disposals such as this.”
Christie + Co are still inviting offers for the following hotels:
Sharrow Bay, Cumbria (Guide price: £5m)
Thornbury Castle, South Gloucestershire (£5m)
Ynyshir Hall, Powys (£1m)
Seaham Hall, County Durham (£5m)
Callow Hall, Derbyshire (£1.6m)
Congham Hall, Norfolk (£3m)
Dalhousie Castle, Edinburgh (£5m)
Homewood Park, Bath (£3.5m)
Chateau de Bagnols, France (£6m)
All hotels marketed are for a freehold tenure, with the exception of Sharrow Bay in Cumbria which is freehold/ leasehold.
Congham Hall is subject to substantial building work which once completed will increase its capacity to 24 bedrooms and see the addition of a swimming pool and spa.
Earlier this week Christie + Co announced the sale of the 70-bedroom Hotel Verta in Battersea for around £20m, which was not included in the original administration of the group. Instead the property was owned by Vo9n Essen founder Andrew Davis until going into administration itself in July.
