Crab Manor sold to nightclub operator
North Yorkshire's Crab Manor and Crab & Lobster restaurant, famed for its re-creation of famous hotel rooms and for its seafood menu, has been sold to nightclub operator Vimac Leisure.
The sale price of the Asenby hotel was kept private, but it is understood that it was more than the £2.5m asked through Knight Frank by outgoing owner David Barnard.
Twelve years ago Barnard bought a closed-down pub that had turned over £300 a week and transformed it into an 11-bedroom hotel and 146-seat restaurant with annual turnover of £2m.
Vimac Leisure owns two nightclubs in Durham - DH1 and Café Rock - and plans to expand further into bars, restaurants and late-night venues.
New owner Paul Mackings said that he had set his sights on the hotel and restaurant after enjoying "the best meal in the most amazing atmosphere I have ever experienced in hospitality".
He sees himself "as a custodian of nurture, not change" and plans to keep the atmosphere and service "true to the original vision". Mackings will seek planning permission for a 12th bedroom.
Barnard, meanwhile, has acquired a "hidden paradise" 2,000ft above sea level in the Sierra Tramuntana mountains in the centre of Majorca, which he intends to convert into a five-star rural spa resort hotel. He says that the ancient manor house, on 300 acres, could hold 26 rooms but he would be happy with 18. He hopes to have it open by 2003 and is considering El Refugio as a name.
Barnard said that he has abandoned ideas of buying a place in the Caribbean, as turnover has plummeted by as much as 70% on some islands since 11 September.
by Angela Frewin
