Kingfisher Resorts forges ahead with portfolio investment

Kingfisher Resorts is investing in its now three-strong portfolio following the acquisition of Meudon Country House in Cornwall for £3.5m.

The group has already begun work renovating the 31-bedroom hotel (pictured), with plans to relaunch it at the end of April.

Speaking to The Caterer, Nigel Chapman, founder of Luxury Family Hotels and executive chairman of Kingfisher Resorts, described it as “a revival back to being one of the best hotels in Cornwall”. There are also hopes to increase the bedroom count in the longer term.

Chapman said he left Luxury Family Hotels, of which he was also chief executive, in January 2019 “to give a new generation a chance to run with what we created… and for me to be able to concentrate on these big projects”. He is also one of the directors of Hotelfinance.com, which focuses on funding for hotels.

Harry and Val Pilgrim bought Meudon House in 1964 and transformed it into a hotel. The family-run property was featured in Channel 5’s The Hotel Inspector in 2012, and it was then that Harry Pilgrim decided to step down after 50 years, although he remained chairman of the board until his death in 2018.

Presenter Alex Polizzi, in an interview with The Caterer in 2012, described it as a “stunning” hotel, and revealed she had offered to buy it from the Pilgrim family.

The hotel has more than eight acres of historic, subtropical gardens which date to the 1800s as well as an AA rosette restaurant, a bar, lounge, tapestry room and studio.

James Greenslade, associate director in the hotels team at Savills Exeter, which completed the sale of Meudon, described the property as having an “outstanding private location”.

Kingfisher's investment plans also include the construction of Una St Ives resort in Cornwall, and the group is seeking planning permission for the multimillion-pound redevelopment of Knoll House in Studland, Dorset as a luxury 30-bedroom resort with 60 apartments.