Oxfordshire's Bell rings changes
Martin and Louise Lyall have bought the leasehold to the 17th-century Bell hotel, pub and restaurant in Charlbury, near Chipping Norton in Oxfordshire, from Simon Cowen and Christine Connor. The new owners paid less than the £150,000 asked by agent Christie & Co for the remainder of a 20-year lease which started last March. The hotel, which has 12 bedrooms and 135 dining seats spread across three function rooms and a bar-restaurant, is owned by Greene King.
New England Inns buys Scottish lease
Newly formed New England Inns, headed by directors Charles Shentall and Angus Forsyth, has bought a 10-year lease on the Meikleour hotel, which lies between Perth and Blairgowrie in Perthshire. The five-bedroom hotel was managed directly by owner Meikleour Hotels and Fishing Partnership until the recent retirement after 23 years of managers Maggie and Jim Boulton. New England Inns paid a sum close to the £25,000 cash and £12,500 annual rent asked by agent Robert Barry & Co. They will reopen the hotel by April after a revamp that will include a 40-seat restaurant.
Gullane exchange
John and Anne Burns, who ran the Roseberry restaurant in Gullane, East Lothian, until recently, have bought a 10-year leasehold on the 14-bedroom Golf Inn Hotel & Restaurant, also in Gullane. Robert Barry & Co achieved a sale close to the £50,000 cash and £45,000 annual rent it advertised. The privately owned hotel includes two bars, a restaurant, and conference facilities for 150.
London B&B owners acquire first hotel
Ramnik and Surendra Patel have bought the 18-bedroom Meadow Croft Lodge hotel in New Eltham, south-east London, for a sum close to the £850,000 asked by agent Christie & Co on behalf of Trevor and Stephanie Powell, who have owned the property since 1985. The Patels also own a B&B business in nearby Lewisham and are seeking other hotels in Croydon, Surrey.
Shropshire couple buy Hopetoun Arms
The nine-bedroom Hopetoun Arms hotel, the only hotel and pub in the south Lanarkshire village of Leadhills, has been sold to Nik and Michelle Kempson-Hopkins of Shropshire. They paid about £170,000 for the freehold. Christie & Co was the agent for the vendors, Andy Gibson and his wife.