A North East hotel has been placed on the market by Tavistock Hospitality three years after the death of the firm’s founder.
The Roker Hotel has been operated by Tavistock Hospitality, which also owns venues including the Copt Hill Inn at Houghton le Spring and the S43 craft beer and Poetic License gin businesses, under the Best Western Hotels Premier Collection for the past 20 years ago.
Tavistock Hospitality invested heavily in the building after acquiring it, transforming the 170-year-old property into a high-end boutique venue complete with a bar and restaurant, function suite and the popular Let There Be Crumbs tearoom. The group’s founder Mark Hird also based the group’s Poetic License Independent Small Batch Distillery business at the hotel, naming the 500-litre copper pot which produces its gins after his daughter Gracie.
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He had launched the complementary drinks businesses after discovering a passion for brewing through course, gifted to him by his wife Nicola for his 40th birthday. Following a long battle with cancer, Mr Hird passed away in December 2019, at the age of 46.
Now managing director Nicola Foster-Hird says the company is selling the hotel to focus on other parts of the business, noting how it will be a sad day when a sale is completed. The Poetic License business at the hotel is set to be moved to another part of the group, to continue producing its gins, which are now sold all over the world.
She said: “Tavistock as a company has changed dramatically over the last few years, as such, we’ve decided now is the right time to scale down and concentrate more on the smaller scale sites that we have.
“It really has been a fantastic 20 years at The Roker and the hotel has become part of the family almost, with some amazing memories and lifelong friends made on the way. It’s going to be a sad day for us when we leave, but it’s time now for someone else to take the reins, and enjoy it as much as we have.”
Specialist business property adviser Christie & Co is marketing the hotel, which also has a patio with coastal views and two separate buildings to the rear which will be vacated upon a sale.
David Lee, regional director, hotels at Christie & Co, who is handling the sale, said: “The Roker Hotel is one of the most famous hotels in the area, there have been many high profile events and evenings held at The Roker over the years. It is a hotel which offers something for everybody and we do expect significant interest.”
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