Castle could be off the market

The 900-year-old castle was put up for sale in April when the Von Essen Hotels Group went into administration.

Following two rounds of a bidding process, Christie & Co has reported that 19 out of the 20 Von Essen Hotels are now under offer, including Amberley Castle.

Four years ago, the 11th Century castle was bought from the Cummings family. No figure for the sale was ever disclosed, but there was speculation at the time that it may have changed hands for about £13m.

For commercial reasons Christie & Co are neither stating how much has been offered now, nor disclosing the name of the prospective buyers.

However, it is known there are a number of different parties interested in the various properties in the portfolio, including experienced operators and ‘high net worth’ individuals. Other hotels under offer include Seaham Hall, County Durham; Homewood Park, Bath; and Sharrow Bay, Cumbria.

Chris Day, managing director of Christie & Co said: “As we anticipated, the portfolio attracted a great deal of interest nationally and internationally from a variety of operators and investors. Whilst portfolio interest was received, it was decided that the route to best value was through a sale on a sub-group and individual basis.

“The hotels that have not yet received acceptable offers have been reduced in price and will be immediately re-launched to the market — this is quite typical in multi-asset disposals such as this.”

For more information on Amberley Castle visit www.amberleycastle.co.uk.