Crab Manor owner calls halt to sell-off

The sale of Crab Manor hotel in Asenby, North Yorkshire, has collapsed after the prospective buyer demanded a form of insurance at the final stages that could have shaved £250,000 off the £2.5m sale price.

David Barnard, owner of the 12-bedroom hotel which re-creates bedrooms of famous hotels around the world, said the sale to a small hotel operator in the North-east should have been completed on 23 November.

But he said the buyer had suddenly wanted to retain £250,000 of the sale price for two years, and had presented a 41-page list of 500 things that he could claim against if anything went wrong at the hotel.

If everything ran smoothly for two years, he would have given the £250,000 to Barnard.

Barnard said: "It was a hidden way of reducing the sale price. It meant he was not prepared to take on responsibility for the business and building for two years. It was all going to be on me."

Barnard said the buyer refused to budge on the issue and so the sale was abandoned. He believes it has cost him £15,000 and the buyer about £40,000.

Barnard is reconsidering his options, one of which is to remain at the Crab.

He still wants to open a health spa hotel called Zog in the future (Caterer, 1 November, page 6)

by Angela Frewin