Hotel transactions worth more than £86m took place in the South West in 2021 as the staycation boom attracted investors to the lucrative holiday market.
Across the UK hotels were hot property with global real estate advisor Savills revealing the country, outside of London, saw £2.04bn changing hands as hotels were bought and sold.
And the South West hotel market continued to be in demand with investment volumes climbing 8.2% compared with 2020, to £86.1m, according to Savills.
The company represented more than 40% of hotel assets transacted in 2021 in the South West.
Key deals include the sale of Treloyhan Manor, in St Ives, Cornwall, to Manchester-based developers for more than £3m off a guide price of £1.75m,
The Dial House, in Bourton on the Water, Gloucestershire, was sold to overseas investors off a guide price of £2.5m.
James Greenslade, director in the hotel capital markets team at Savills Exeter, said: “The regional hotel market has performed exceptionally well, driven by consumer demand for staycations.
“While accelerated by the pandemic lockdowns, this is a theme that will continue as holidaymakers seek out more environmentally friendly and sustainable holidaying, a trend that was emerging pre-Covid.
“The South West has some of the best holiday locations in the UK and investors are drawn to locations such as Cornwall and Devon where long-term demand for leisure-led hotels is expected to be high.”
Other notable deals in 2021 included the purchase of Welbeck Manor pile, at Sparkwell on the edge of Plymouth, a manor house built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel.
New owners Paul Stone and Paul Yarnley, and their families, have invested a “substantial amount” into a complete revamp of the property which was to reopen as a hotel and fine dining restaurant after an expensive renovation.
Also in Plymouth, Grade II* listed Langdon Court hotel was bought by Britain’s “jean queen” fashion designer and her restaurateur husband to be reopened as a “top level” venue.
Donna Ida Thornton, founder of London’s Donna Ida fashion brand, and her spouse Robert Walton purchased the 16th Century Jacobean manor, which had been closed for 18 months after the previous owner went into administration. The purchase price of Langdon Court, in Wembury, has not been revealed, but it was put on sale in 2020 with a guide price of £1.85m.
Also in 2021, the historic and award-winning Mill End Hotel, situated in Dartmoor National Park close to the town of Chagford, was sold after going on the market for £2.1m. The hotel was purchased from Nick and Tara Culverhouse by Alex Horsfall, an experienced operator who already owns The Valley, situated between Truro and Falmouth in Cornwall.
Meanwhile, North London’s Amayo Properties Ltd bought the closed Richmond Hotel, in Torquay, from hospitality company the UK Holiday Group, based in Norwich, off a guide price of £950,000 and said it will reopen it to guests.
