Hand Picked Hotels acquires its 20th hotel


Independent hotel chain Hand Picked Hotels, who owns 19 upmarket country house hotels, has acquired the 58-bedroom Fawsley Hall Hotel & Spa near Silverstone in Northamptonshire to its growing portfolio.

Located within a Grade I-listed property dating back to the Tudor times, the four-AA-red star property has been purchased off a guide price of £15m from entrepreneur Simon Lowe, who owns Grayshott Hall in Surrey.

The hotel & spa, which is set within nine acres of landscaped gardens and grounds, also includes two-AA-rosette restaurant- the Equilibrium, a 70-seat bistro, orangery, self-contained conference centre for 120 people, private cinema, and spa with an indoor pool, gym and treatment rooms.

It is the latest hotel to join the group, created by former lawyer turned hotelier Julia Hands, following the acquisition of the St Pierre Park Hotel & Golf Resort in Guernsey in June and Bailbrook House Hotel, Bath, which has undergone a £10m restoration since being bought last year.

Julia Hands, who formed Hand Picked Hotels in 2001 from a collection of hotels purchased with her husband, financier Guy Hands, said the acquisition of the hotel reflects the group’s expansion strategy. “Fawsley Hall will be a natural fit for our collection - an architecturally splendid property in an outstanding setting – with excellent spa and leisure, wedding, conference and events facilities.”