The deadline for bids closed last week with property agents Christie & Co receiving a large number of offers in excess of the guide prices for the 26 hotels, including former stately home Cliveden and the Royal Crescent hotel in Bath, and one hotel opportunity.
Christie & Co's international managing director Chris Day said bids had come in a number of different forms: “We have received a large number of bids on a portfolio, sub-group and individual asset basis.
“Many of these offers meet or exceed the guide prices and we’re currently working with the administrators to review all the bids we have received before proceeding to the next round of the process.”
Second round
A spokesman for the property agents, instructed by administrators Ernst & Young to market the estate, told BigHospitality they would meet with Ernst & Young to discuss worthwhile bids before deciding which ones would go through to the next round of the process.
None of the potential bidders have been named and it is not known when the second round will start exactly, although it is expected to be happen in weeks rather than months.
Von Essen's individual hotels have continued to trade as normal since the group, founded and chaired by Andrew Davis, was placed into administration on 21 April.
The full list of hotels and the hotel opportunity - at the Thorn Island Battery Fort in Pembrokeshire - for sale can be seen here.