Von Essen Hotels is believed to be eyeing up Sharrow Bay country house hotel on Ullswater in the Lake District, plus a group of four hotels in the Cotswolds.
Nicholas Romano, operations director of Von Essen, would not confirm the rumours, but said that the company was on the verge of buying one hotel in the Lake District and four in Gloucestershire and Worcestershire for £16.5m.
He said other deals were expected to follow by November involving hotels in Hampshire and Scotland. One property thought to be in the company's sights is Inverlochy Castle in Fort William, Inverness-shire.
Nigel Lightburn, owner of the 26-bedroom Sharrow Bay, was unavailable for comment. He has worked at the hotel for 30 years and inherited the property in January 2002 after the death of previous owner Brian Sack. Sack had been the lifelong partner of Sharrow Bay's founder Francis Coulson, who died in February 1998.
The four hotels thought to be for sale in Gloucestershire and Worcestershire are: Lower Slaughter Manor and Washbourne Court, both in Lower Slaughter; Buckland Manor in Buckland; and the Elms hotel in Worcester.
They are owned by Lord Roy Vaughan and his wife, Lady Daphne. Anne Tarver, deputy manager of Lower Slaughter Manor, would not comment on whether the hotels were for sale. No one at Inverlochy Castle was available for comment.
Von Essen Hotels
- Ston Easton Park, Ston Easton, Somerset
- New Park Manor, Brockenhurst, Hampshire
- Thornbury Castle, Thornbury, Gloucestershire
- The Mount Somerset, Taunton, Somerset
- Congham Hall, Hillington, Norfolk
- Bishopstrow House, Warminster, Wiltshire
- Thorne Island, Angle, Pembrokeshire
- The Royal Crescent, Bath
- Cliveden, Taplow, Buckinghamshire
- Lewtrenchard Manor, Lewdown, Devon
- Dalhousie Castle and Spa, Bonnyrigg, Edinburgh
Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, 31 July - 6 August 2003