Nigerian business snaps up Morecambe hotel

A Nigerian-backed hotel company has entered the UK market with its acquisition of the 29-bedroom Clarendon hotel in Morecambe, Lancashire.

The Statement Hotel Ltd, which was incorporated at Companies House in March 2018, has bought the hotel for an undisclosed sum off a guide price of £725,000 with the intention of turning the property into "a destination hotel with world-class standards". The new owner was partly attracted to Morecambe by the proposals to develop the multimillion-pound Eden Project North in the seaside town.

The Clarendon, which was used as RAF headquarters during World War Two, was previously part of a portfolio of nine pubs and two hotels bought by Provincial Hotels and Inns, operated by management firm Onecall Hospitality, from Mitchells of Lancaster in 2016.

Nonso Ochinanwata of the Statement Hotel, said the acquisition of the property marked the company's intention to build "a broader investment portfolio" in the UK.

"We targeted Morecambe as a location for various reasons, however, the proposals for the new Eden project, a venue intended to draw 500,000 to a million visitors every year, was a key factor.

"Now the transaction has completed we will be focussing our attention on transforming the Clarendon into a destination hotel with world-class standards."

The deal was brokered by property company Fleurets.

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