The hotel owner-operator, which already operates the Grand Hotel in the town, was chosen as the preferred bidder for the 118-bedroom Royal Hotel and the 70-bedroom Clifton Hotel yesterday following a high level of interest in the two properties.
Property agent Colliers International said Britannia was its preferred choice, mainly because it was able to buy both together.
Julian Troup, head of UK hotels agency at Colliers International said: “The sale of the Royal and the Clifton hotels, with a combined bed stock of nearly 200, is one of the biggest hotel transactions that has taken place in recent years in the North of England.
“The purchase of these two hotels takes Britannia Hotels up to a UK hotel trading company with 39 hotels. I am quite convinced that the Royal and the Clifton will compliment Britannia’s existing portfolio and together with their ownership of the Grand Hotel (382 Bedrooms) they now have a stronghold in Scarborough with a hotel to fit all types of trade.”
Administration
Administrators from Duff & Phelps had run the 118-bedroom Royal Hotel and the 70-bedroom Clifton hotel as going concerns since 24 August last year after former owner English Rose Hotels (ERH) Scarborough Limited collapsed into administration.
David Whitehouse, joint administrator at Duff & Phelps said: “Whilst trading conditions in the hotel and leisure sector in the UK remain difficult I am pleased to announce the successful sale of these two hotels. The sale to an established hotel operator will now provide certainty to both employees and surrounding businesses.”
Soaring tax bills and corporate banking fees were blamed for sending the company into administration. Two other Scarborough hotels owned by ERH Scarborough, the Wrea Head Hotel and Hackness Grange - are still waiting for buyers.