Offers over £3m sought for Miller Howe

Offers in excess of £3m are being sought for Miller Howe, the Lake District country house hotel and restaurant which became a destination restaurant under legendary chef-restaurateur John Tovey in the 1980s.

The three AA-silver-starred, 15-bedroom hotel with a two-AA-rosette restaurant overlooking Lake Windermere is being sold by the Ainscough family so they can concentrate on their core country pub and property businesses. Colliers International is handling the sale.

Tovey bought and launched Miller Howe in the early 1970s with an investment of £53,000. By 1989 the hotel and restaurant had become internationally renowned and was valued at around £2.5m.

Tovey sold the property on retirement in 1998 to Charles Garside, former editor of the European newspaper, who managed the business with his brother and sister-in-law before selling it on to the Ainscough family in 2006.

Planning permission has been granted for two additional en-suite bedrooms and the redevelopment pf the conservatory.

Julian Troup, head of UK hotels agency at Colliers, said: "Miller Howe is arguably the most high-profile and prestigious country house hotel in the Lake District National Park, offering unrivalled views over Lake Windermere. Its landmark status means we are confident of attracting strong interest from both domestic and international prospective buyers.

"Due in part to the fall in the value of the pound against the euro and the dollar, around 15% of our UK hotel sales in the past 12 months have been to overseas buyers and there's every indication that this trend will continue and indeed, strengthen."

Tovey sells Miller Howe to former European editor >>

Miller Howe deal is close to closure >>

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