Raj Regmi’s Meadow Brown Restaurants has acquired the Woodland Manor hotel in Bedford for £2m, having run the property for the last four years.
Regmi plans to invest in modernising the property’s 34 bedrooms and conference room over the next year.
Local Justice of the Peace, William Long Fitzpatrick, commissioned the manor, which was built by local architects Usher and Anthony. The date of the building – 1901 – and the Fitzpatrick family crest are displayed over the main entrance.
After World War II the manor was used as a guest house and as a hospital for the Ministry of Supply. Later it was employed as a research establishment for a time, before becoming a hotel in 1973. The hotel was previously owned by 3R Properties for more than 10 years.
Meadow Brown also operates several cafés and restaurants at locations including Lincoln Cathedral and Nottingham Castle.