Luxury country house hotel Bovey Castle has been sold by its owner, Peter De Savary, for £26.4m to Hilwood Resorts and Hotels.

The 65-bedroom hotel and 18-hole golf resort was bought by de Savary three-and-a-half years ago when it was the Manor House hotel and he has subsequently invested heavily in refurbishing the property.

De Savary will retain the company Bovey Castle, which will be renamed Havana West as well as ownership of the White Hart, Sandy Park, Coombe Court, Leyburn House and the Plymouth Inn.

De Savary said he intended to acquire further properties in keeping with his existing portfolio and would remain chairman of the Bovey Castle Club.

This is the second property acquired by Hilwood, run by the former finance and operations directors of Hand Picked Hotels, Gregor Ritchie and Arvinder Walia, in a joint venture with investment advisor Delancey, since its creation earlier this year.

Jamie Ritblat, chief executive of Delancey said: “We have already identified a number of areas at Bovey Castle which will provide development and operational opportunities to us, and believe, therefore, that its contribution to Hilwood’s portfolio will be immediate.”

The group, which also owns The Grand in St Helier, Jersey was set up to create a new portfolio of luxury four- and five-star hotels.

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King of his castle >>

By Emily Manson

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