Member Article

Unique Rotherham hospitality venue goes up for lease or sale

A five-year-old hotel, restaurant and wedding venue business, which has a diary full of bookings including five weddings and generated an £800,000 turnover in its first year of trading, is up for lease or sale - with a price tag of £75,000 for the business, or £1m for the Grade II-listed property. The George Wright Boutique Hotel in Rotherham town centre, which closed in February, is being marketed by commercial property estate agent Ernest Wilson.

Built in the 17th century, the ‘Tudor revival’ style hotel building was home to renowned stove and fireplace maker George Wright & Co in the 1800s. It was used as a pub and restaurant in the mid-1990s before being badly damaged in a fire. In 2017, local husband and wife team, Mark and Ruth McGrail bought and renovated the building, redeveloping it as the boutique seven-bedroom George Wright Boutique Hotel, bar and restaurant.

Owner Mark McGrail said: “We are looking for experienced hospitality or leisure professionals to lease or buy the business. We took the difficult decision to close the business last month but the property is still fully furnished and equipped, ready to restart operations and fulfil the demand for forward bookings, which continue to be strong. In fact, there have already been enquiries for weddings and events to the tune of £40,000 in potential revenue this year. This is a fantastic opportunity for enterprising and ambitious new operators.”

He added: “Ruth and I opened the George Wright Boutique Hotel in 2018 and ran it ourselves for the first 12 months before leasing it to tenants. During that first year we built a talented team led by a fantastic chef and turned over £800,000, the future looked bright. Unfortunately, the business was then mismanaged by our tenants and we are now keen to rebuild the business and protect this important and special building for Rotherham.”

The George Wright has seven ensuite bedrooms, including two wedding suites, a function room for 150 people, with open terraces and gardens, and an 80-seat restaurant.

Mark Czajka, director at Ernest Wilson, the specialist commercial property agent that is marketing the hotel, and which sells hundreds of businesses across the UK every year, said: “This is a rare opportunity to purchase a business with plenty of forward bookings for events already in the diary. The hotel is in outstanding condition and our client is eager to lease it to capable operators who can reinstate the business without delay.

“This is a fantastic opportunity housed in a unique and historic property at the heart of Rotherham, and needless to say we have already had a great deal of interest from prospective buyers.”

Ernest Wilson was founded in 1956 and sells hundreds of businesses every year, from a sandwich bar or coffee shop, right up to multi-million-pound sales and acquisitions of businesses in all sectors.

Anyone interested in the sale of the George Wright Boutique Hotel should contact the Leeds head office of Ernest Wilson on 0113 238 2900.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Robinson .