Dower House hotel sold to Inn Collection Group

Expanding pub company the Inn Collection Group has acquired the historic Dower House hotel in Knaresborough for an undisclosed sum.

The Grade II-listed building features 38 bedrooms, a spa and swimming pool, alongside several bars, lounges and function areas.

It will undergo a refurbishment in 2022 including a “sympathetic restoration” of the 15th century building to align the site with Inn Collection Group’s other food-driven pubs with rooms.

Sean Dorkin, managing director of Inn Collection Group, said: “We’re looking forward to investing in the team and site and realising Dower House’s full potential while preserving the heritage and charm it holds.”

The Inn Collection Group, which was founded in 2006, owns 26 sites and is looking to expand its presence in Yorkshire. It acquired the Dean Court hotel in York and the Ripon Spa hotel in Ripon earlier this year.

The group reopened the Black Swan in Helmsley in October following the first phase of a multi-million-pound refurbishment while it is developing the former police station building in Northallerton into a 32-bedroom pub with rooms, which will open in spring 2022.

Outside Yorkshire, the Inn Collection Group’s estate includes sites in Northumberland, the Lake District, County Durham, Tyne and Wear and Lancashire.

Julian Troup, head of UK hotels agency at Colliers, brokered the confidential sale of Dower House behalf of the owners.