Former Ritz chef acquires guest house

Brendan Sutherland and Josie Price have purchased the Wilsons of Haworth in West Yorkshire.

Sutherland is a former chef of the Ritz in London's St James's while Price was previously marketing manager of the Cote Brasserie brand.

The duo relocated from London to open their first venture together. They secured £250,000, 50% of the purchase price, from the Royal Bank of Scotland and privately financed the remaining sum.

The five-bedroom boutique guest house was named best hotel 2017 by hotel price comparison site Hotels Combined, under the previous ownership.

Sutherland and Price are hoping to retain the status by developing the food and beverage offerings, with Sutherland taking the helm in the kitchen and Price overseeing the front of house operations. The staff of the hotel have been retained following the previous owners' retirement.

Yorkshire-born Sutherland said: "We dreamed of owning a guest house one day in West Yorkshire as my family reside here, so I'm familiar with the area, but we decided to bring our plans forward and embark on this lifestyle change at a younger age. I'm in my late 20s and Josie's in her early 30s so we have plenty of passion and energy to build up the business and put our own stamp on it.

"I'm looking forward to getting back in the kitchen and producing quality food that is locally sourced. We are already buying our free range eggs from a neighbour down the road to make breakfast even more delicious for our guests. Over the next 12-18 months we intend to really put our restaurant on the map by building up a reputation for fantastic food and beverage in the area."

Andrew Matley, senior relationship manager at Royal Bank of Scotland, added: "We are supporting many couples like Brendan and Josie who are looking to take that leap of faith into ownership and make their new venture a huge success. Bookings are looking very healthy and we wish them well as they settle into the local community and enjoy the busy summer season ahead."

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