Castleforge buys Bath’s Abbey hotel from KE Hotels

London-based property investment firm Castleforge has announced it is acquiring the Abbey hotel in Bath from KE Hotels as well as two adjoining buildings, with plans to add 15 bedrooms to the property later in the year.

The 65-bedroom hotel occupies three Georgian houses in the centre of Bath and is a member of Marriott’s Tribute Portfolio brand.

It is Castleforge’s fourth hotel investment since setting its sights on developing a hospitality portfolio. In May 2021, the group announced the acquisition of the Bruntsfield hotel in Edinburgh, shortly followed by the purchase of the Hilton Cardiff in June and the Crowne Plaza in Edinburgh in September 2021.

Matt Lederer, hotel acquisitions director at Castleforge, said: “After the success of our hospitality portfolio expansion in Edinburgh and Cardiff, Bath felt like the ideal place for our next acquisition because of its role as a hub for UK tourism. The Abbey hotel is a beautifully restored, historic hotel that has a proven track record as a popular destination for tourists. We look forward to announcing further investments across the UK as the industry bounces back from the pandemic.”

Michael Kovacs, founding partner of Castleforge, said: “Bath is a highly sought after city location for hotels, and we are fortunate to have secured such a wonderful property in the city centre. We are excited to be playing our part in supporting the city’s tourism and hospitality industry by investing in one of the best properties in the area. Our team will continue to provide the best possible service to Abbey hotel guests and its employees as we aim to expand and improve the hotel, all the while protecting the heritage and character that makes it special.”

Anil Khanna, managing director of KE Hotels, said: “We are very proud of the Abbey hotel and the transformation into a high quality boutique hotel. The hotel offers an excellent guest experience supported by the fantastic team at the hotel. We wish Castleforge every success in taking over the hotel.”

Gavin Wright, senior director (hotels and hospitality) at JLL advised KE Hotels on the sale. Axiom Hospitality will manage the hotel on behalf of Castleforge following completion.

KE Hotels acquired the property from Ian and Christa Taylor in February 2018 for an undisclosed sum, under whose ownership Pierre Koffmann and Marco Pierre White together opened Koffmann & Mr White’s restaurant at the hotel later that year. However, the restaurant has since closed and reopened as the Abbey Hotel Kitchen.

The Taylors acquired the hotel in 2012 for £5.5m from Compass Hotels and undertook an extensive repositioning of the business, taking it from a three-AA-star to a four-AA-star hotel and increasing turnover from £1.8m to £4.4m.