New owner for Bognor's Norfolk Hotel

The local company exchanged contracts on the Royal Norfolk Hotel on Monday. The purchase from the Christ for the Nations UK charity is due to be completed on May 14.

The new owner has yet to be publicly identified but the hotel's managing director, the Rev Kevin Swadling, said: "The intention is to keep it as a hotel. The new owner hopes to re-open it in May.

"I am delighted the building is going to remain as a hotel. We invested more than 1m on refurbishing it.

"I am sad for all the people who lost their jobs when we closed the hotel. I hope some of them may be re-employed with the new owner."

Mr Swadling said the purchase price was above 1m, but below 1.75m.

He said he was disappointed at the end of the religious charity's six years at the 43 bedroom three-star hotel, a grade II listed building from the 1820s.

He blamed the closure on February 28 on being let down by a previous buyer at the start of this year and a lack of support from his bank.

These circumstances worsened the economic slowdown which had affected the general situation in the past year, he said.

The Observer reported how a consortium of Bognor residents tried to buy the hotel and offer shares in it to the local community. But they were foiled by the strict rules which surround public share issues to make it too costly and time-consuming to continue.

Christ for the Nations UK is moving its base from the hotel to the Living Word christian bookshop on Crescent Road.

The charity is also uncertain about its plans for the former St Michael and All Angels Church in West Meads. This closed in November 2006 and was bought by Christ for the Nations as a base.

But Mr Swadling said: "I'm not sure if we can complete on the deal to buy the church. We have to find somebody who can help us find the price of it."

The charity's trustees were meeting this week to discuss the situation, he said.