Yorkshire Venture’s acquisition of luxury North Yorkshire resort to create 50 jobs

Richard Jackson’s Harrogate-based property business, Yorkshire Ventures, has acquired the Yorkshire leisure destination Raithwaite Estate from administrators KPMG with the backing of York-based secured pension lender, Grosvenor Financial Consultants.

The deal sees the firm acquire the 80-bedroom, luxury hotel, spa and restaurant, along with 100 acres of the estate and seven luxury cottages at Sandsend, near Whitby.

Mr Jackson said: “This property is a Yorkshire gem in a fantastic coastal location. It has been renovated to an incredibly high standard, and that’s why the hotel business has a good foundation and such enormous potential.

“The opportunity remains to develop a further 46 cottages, which already have current planning consent, and we are all ready to finish the site to the same five-star luxury standard as the hotel.”

The new development at the site will start in March 2016, and the work will create 50 new jobs, with local construction firms and suppliers winning the majority of the new tenders and contracts.

Yorkshire Ventures has appointed hospitality management company Inn-telligence to run the hotel. The team is headed by Penny Brown and Meinhard Huck, both previously senior executives with Raffles Hotels and Swissotels, of which Mr Huck was president.

Inn-telligence has worked on a range of high profile luxury hotel management projects including Sir John Madejski’s Royal Palm Hotel in Galapagos.

Penny Brown said: “Raithwaite Estate is a stunning property with enormous potential to increase its range of services and facilities and to attract more visitors to Whitby.”

Inn-telligence and Yorkshire Ventures have announced plans to become part of Preferred Hotels & Resorts under their Lifestyle brand. This would see Raithwaite Estate join a string of other well known names under the Preferred banner, including The Scotsman in Edinburgh, and The Wellesley and The ME by Melia in London.

The deal received the backing of Mark Pepper’s York-based Grosvenor Financial Consultants, which held the ownership of the land and assets.

Mark Pepper said: “This is a good deal and ensures that a great development and a profitable luxury resort has a really bright future. The acquisition ensures the value of the site, against which the loans were secured, is safeguarded.”

In July last year the lender called in administrators from KPMG to ensure the future of the business and to protect its clients’ investment.

Looking to promote your product/service to SME businesses in your region? Find out how Bdaily can help →