Hand Picked Hotels has acquired Fawsley Hall Hotel & Spa near Silverstone in Northamptonshire – expanding the award-winning country house hotel portfolio to 20 properties. The 4 AA Red Star Grade I listed hotel has been purchased for an undisclosed amount.
Strategic expansion
The acquisition is part of a strategic expansion by Hand Picked Hotels, created by former lawyer turned hotelier Julia Hands, to establish a presence in Northamptonshire, with easy access to Oxfordshire and the Cotswolds. The hotel will be operated and managed by Hand Picked Hotels and will become part of the Hand Picked Hotels collection immediately.
The acquisition is the second this year by the group. St Pierre Park Hotel & Golf Resort in Guernsey was purchased in June, and Bailbrook House Hotel in Bath, bought last year, has joined the collection following a £10 million restoration.
Fawsley Hall
Set in nine acres of formal gardens and grounds within a landscaped estate designed by Capability Brown, Fawsley Hall Hotel & Spa has a Tudor hall country house lounge, an orangery, 58 bedrooms and suites, wedding, conference and banqueting facilities, a self-contained conference centre for 120 people, a private cinema, and a spa with indoor pool, steam room and sauna, outdoor hydro pool, gym and treatment rooms. There are a range of dining options including 2 AA Rosette fine dining in the Equilibrium Restaurant and a 70-cover bistro.
Julia Hands, who formed Hand Picked Hotels in 2001 from a collection of hotels purchased with her husband, financier Guy Hands, said: “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. The hotel is close to Silverstone, Althorp, and Warwick Castle, with the M1 and the M40 providing excellent road links to the Cotswolds and Oxfordshire. This reflects our expansion strategy – to acquire hotels in good, accessible locations.”
