Singapore company scoops up Torquay's Palace hotel

The four-AA-star, 141-bedroom Palace hotel has been sold for an undisclosed sum off a guide price of more than £10m to Singapore-based property and investment company Fragrance Group.

It is the second hotel to be bought in the UK by Fragrance, founded by Koh Wee Meng, one of Singapore's richest businessmen, following the acquisition in February of the four-AA-star, 180-bedroom Imperial hotel in Blackpool, for £12.8m.

The Palace hotel was sold by The Torquay Palace Limited, whose main shareholder was Vernon Ducker.

Located within 17 acres of grounds overlooking Ansley Cove and Lyme Bay, the hotel features a restaurant, three lounges, and conference and event space for up to 1,000 guests. The extensive leisure facilities include a nine-hole golf course, tennis and squash courts, swimming pools and fitness suite.

Planning permission was previously granted for the construction of 137 apartments within the hotel grounds as well permission to add further bedrooms and a spa.

Martin Rogers, head of UK hotel transactions at Savills, which marketed the hotel, said: "The sale of the Palace hotel to Fragrance Group reiterates the strong demand we are seeing from overseas investors for regional assets.

"With the continued weakness of Sterling offering favourable exchange rates and the compression of yields in prime markets we expect this trend to continue."

Trio of Torbay hotels sold to Fairtree Capital for £12.5m >>

Brownsword Hotel Group snaps up Imperial hotel Torquay >

More than £10m sought for sale of Palace hotel, Torquay >

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