Expansion for Hand Picked Hotels with acquisition of three hotels

Hand Picked Hotels, the award-winning collection of country house hotels, is on the acquisitions trail, buying three hotels and increasing its portfolio to 17 hotels.

Owned by former City lawyer Julia Hands, Hand Picked Hotels is buying three hotels from the Bridgehouse Hotels Group: the Grade II listed 57-bedroom Hendon Hall Hotel in Hendon, North London; Audleys Wood Hotel in Basingstoke, Hampshire, also Grade II listed and with 72 bedrooms, and New Hall Hotel,Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, a Grade I listed 60-bedroom hotel, just 20 minutes from Birmingham Airport.

The acquisitions, for an undisclosed figure, form part of a strategic expansion by Hand Picked Hotels across the UK. Hendon Hall will provide the group with a North London presence and is close to Wembley and excellent motorway links. Audleys Wood will give access to the key business markets along the M3 corridor. New Hall in Sutton Coldfield will be in a key position to service business in Birmingham and the West Midlands generally.

Julia Hands, who created Hand Picked Hotels in 2001 from a collection of hotels purchased with her husband, city financier Guy Hands, said: “Our aim is to have 20 hotels by 2012 in strategic positions across the UK and these three hotels are a great fit for our existing portfolio. They are trading well and have some beautiful  features.  They will add 189 bedrooms to the existing 760 bedrooms in the group. The three properties, like all our hotels, are former private country houses with interesting histories.”

 Alex Mackay, Managing Director of Bridgehouse Hotels said: ‘'After huge success in turning these 3 ailing hotels into successful profitable businesses, we are pleased to be passing them on to a group with a similar passion for service and hospitality as Bridgehouse Hotels.'
 

More than £70 million has been invested so far in restoring and developing the existing 14 Hand Picked Hotels to stimulate growth in conferences, leisure, weddings and health clubs/spas. Recently projects have been completed at Rookery Hall near Nantwich, Cheshire, where £10 million was spent on a new spa and health club, new banqueting and conference facilities, plus 39 additional bedrooms. At Rhinefield House in the New Forest near Brockenhurst in Hampshire, a £4 million addition of conference facilities, health club and additional bedrooms has just been completed. At Norton House, close to Edinburgh, £13 million has been spent on a new spa and health club, conference and banqueting facilities and 36 additional bedrooms.
                                                      

For more media information and images, contact Marion Hardman at Four Communications on 0870 066 8738 or marion.hardman@fourcommunications.com

Notes to editors

The award-winning Hand Picked Hotels collection, created by former City lawyer Julia Hands, are luxurious country house hotels renowned for exquisite food, fine wines and excellent service in stylish, relaxing surroundings. There are 14 hotels across the UK, with locations ranging from the New Forest and Jersey to Yorkshire and Edinburgh.  Hand Picked Hotels has focused on the quality of its service and cuisine and in the last three years 12 hotels have achieved two AA rosette status with Norton House in Edinburgh winning three AA rosettes.  Six hotels have achieved red star status, being recognised as amongst the AA's Top 200 hotels in the UK & Ireland. In 2007, Julia Hands was awarded an MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List for services to the hospitality industry.