Von Essen Hotels has bought Luxury Family Hotels (LFH) for more than £20m.

The deal adds the Woolley Grange hotel, Wiltshire; Fowey Hall hotel, Cornwall; Moonfleet Manor hotel, Dorset; and Ickworth Hall hotel and the Dower House apartments in Suffolk to the company’s portfolio of 17 properties.

Von Essen intends to retain the LFH brand and run it alongside its Classic and Country divisions.

Andrew Davis, executive chairman of Von Essen hotels, said: “We are delighted to have acquired the properties owned by LFH, with the setting, style and ethos of the hotels complementing perfectly those already in the collection.”

LFH was founded by Nicholas Dickinson and Nigel Chapman. About 200 private investors – including singer Annie Lennox – bought shares in the company.

Von Essen is a private collection of hotels including the Royal Crescent hotel in Bath, Cliveden in Berkshire and Sharrow Bay in the Lake District.

By Chris Druce

Get your copy of Caterer and Hotelkeeper every week - click here to subscribe and save 25%.