Von Essen Hotels is poised to take control of Sharrow Bay on the shores of Ullswater in the Lake District as a majority shareholder.
It is understood that Von Essen is to invest a figure in the region of £4m into Sharrow Bay, the UK's original country house hotel, set up in the 1950s by Francis Coulson and his partner, Brian Sack. Sack died in 2002 leaving the business to Nigel Lightburn, who has worked there for 30 years.
The building is owned by a private trust fund in the USA and the lease has another 13 years to run. A source close to Lightburn said he was not planning to leave Sharrow Bay but needed a partner to continue to invest in the business. There are plans for a new kitchen and extended restaurant, but the banks would not lend the £500,000 needed because Lightburn did not own the asset, the source said. "Sharrow can't stand still and with a diminishing lease a business partner was needed. Several partners were considered, but Von Essen was chosen because of its track record in other hotels."
A spokesman for Sharrow Bay confirmed that they were in discussions with Von Essen but declined to comment further. If the deal goes ahead, the hotel's membership of Relais & Châteaux, which technically does not allow members to be part of a corporate empire, could come into question.
The move would mark another coup for Von Essen, which has a rapidly expanding portfolio of prestigious properties. It recently bought four historic hotels in the Cotswolds in a £16m deal and also owns Cliveden in Berkshire, Dalhousie Castle and Spa in Edinburgh and the Royal Crescent in Bath, among others.
Von Essen is led by Andrew Davis, with money from a family trust set up by his Austrian aunt, the Countess Von Essen.
Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, 16 - 22 October 2003