Losses force Studley Priory on to market

Studley Priory hotel in Oxfordshire has been put up for sale after being placed in administrative receivership by its owner, Jeremy Parke.

The three-star, 18-bedroom hotel, which is part of the Pride of Britain and Small Luxury Hotels of the World consortia, is being marketed by agent FPD Savills, and is rumoured to have a price tag of about £3m.

Studley Priory, in the village of Horton-cum-Studley, has been owned by the Parke family since the 1960s, and has planning permission for a further eight bedrooms. It was originally a Tudor manor house built on the site of a 12th-century Benedictine nunnery.

It also features the three-AA-rosette, 36-seat Croke restaurant.

Joint administrative receivers David Crawshaw and Richard Hill from KPMG Corporate Recovery were appointed on 19 January because of continual loss-making by the hotel for a number of years.

According to the most recently filed accounts at Companies House, Studley Priory hotel recorded a loss of £780,425 in the 12 months to 31 December 2002, more than double that recorded a year earlier.

Private hotel group Von Essen confirmed that it has offered £2m for Studley Priory, which it has looked at three or four times. Director of operations Nicholas Romano said the hotel was a "bit tired" and needed a lot spent on it, but added that if Von Essen bought the property it would work with Parke to get the business back on track.

Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper, 12 - 18 February 2004