In April 2017, we announced the sale of the Cresta Court Hotel, a landmark Best Western branded hotel in Altrincham, near Manchester, in a £6.6m deal which doubled our clients’ money in four years.
The buyer was the Cresta Court’s management team who were backed in an MBO by Greg Dyke’s Vine Hotels Ltd, a hotel operating company with a variety of properties in South Yorkshire and Derbyshire.
Purchasing the hotel in 2013 from a receiver portfolio for £3m, our clients invested £2m of equity in the 140 bedroom, 3-Star property alongside experienced hotel operator Longrose Buccleuch Management Ltd.
Our clients’ investment facilitated a major refurbishment of the freehold property, including upgrading room stock as well as creating eight additional bedrooms; refurbishing the reception and bar areas; and reconfiguring meeting rooms and the restaurant to create a higher quality dining experience. The pro-active asset management, together with an improving economic climate, enabled the hotel to significantly improve its trading figures and boost profits.
As always, our clients were able to invest in tranches of £25,000.
"Buying a distressed asset with a view to turning it around requires professional investment expertise to source and secure deals at the right price, and then to maximise value via an active asset management strategy.This is not something most private investors have the capacity or the appetite to do for themselves – so they come to us to do it for them."
Claire Madden, Managing Partner
