Another Place secures £3.5m funding for Lake District hotel development

Located overlooking Ullswater in Cumbria, Another Place, The Lake is being created by the team behind Watergate Bay hotel in Newquay, Cornwall, led by managing director Will Ashworth.

The Cumbria hotel is expected to be the first of six hotels over the next 10 years, with expansion being mooted for northern Europe and the United States.

Funding for the first phase of the plan is being provided by Actev, owned by Gavyn Davies and Baroness Sue Nye. Davies is a former chairman of the BBC and currently chairman of Fulcrum Asset Management, a founding partner of Anthos Capital and Active Private Equity, and a senior adviser to Prisma Capital; while Nye was an advisor to Gordon Brown when Prime Minister.

Together Davies and Nye are planning to open their own hotel, the 48-bedroom Machrie Hotel and Golf Links on the Isle of Islay, off the west coast of Scotland, next year. Machrie will be managed by CampbellGray Hotels.

Nye said: "Actev is committed to supporting and investing in family and owner-managed businesses. Its investment philosophy is to select exceptional management teams such as the Another Place team and to support them by providing capital for growth."

Another Place will be run separately from Watergate Bay, which was founded by Ashworth's parents, John and Mary. Since Ashworth took over the running of the hotel in 2004, Watergate Bay has undergone a £8m redevelopment and today turns over £10m a year with an occupancy rate of 92%.

All Another Place hotels will share the same philosophy of Watergate Bay in being year-round operations, reflecting their "distinct, always exceptional locations", with a focus on activities alongside the enjoyment of good food and drink.

"What we have created at Watergate Bay has been inspired by the ski resort concept, where guests are active during the day and then immersed in a cosy and fun environment at night," said Will Ashworth. "It is original for the UK and fundamentally authentic."

The 18th century Lake District hotel was acquired by the Ashworth family for £2.7m in May 2015. Activities guests will be able to enjoy will include open-water swimming, sailing, stand-up paddle boarding, cycling, walking, and skiing. Its Swim Club will offer a 20-metre indoor pool and treatment rooms.

Funding for the second and third hotels, which will include the redevelopment of the Royal William Yard, a Grade I-listed former naval victualling building, in Plymouth, is already in place

Another Place, The Lake is now closed and will reopen following the completion of its transformation in August 2017.

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