Inn Collection Group buys Grasmere’s Wordsworth hotel

Newcastle-based pub with rooms operator the Inn Collection Group has become the owner of the Wordsworth hotel in Grasmere, Cumbria, its seventh acquisition of the year.

The 38-room establishment has been operating for almost 150 years since opening as the Rothay hotel in 1874. The building was originally constructed as a hunting lodge for the Earl of Cadogan and has welcomed guests including former US president Woodrow Wilson.

The hotel is situated in 2.5 acres grounds in the shadow of St Oswald’s church and is the group’s latest investment into the Grasmere area, joining the Swan on Keswick Road and new staff accommodation facilities under construction for the group’s growing workforce.

Inn Collection Group managing director Sean Donkin said: “We are delighted to bring the Wordsworth into the Inn Collection Group. It is a prime site, and we are really excited to add it to our estate.

“Grasmere is a beautiful village that enjoys a rich history through its connections with Wordsworth and the Heaton Cooper family and this acquisition lets us put down further roots in the community.

“We appreciate the history and esteem the Wordsworth is held in and we’re looking forward to welcoming guests in such a honeypot location.”

The Wordsworth hotel is the 34th property to come under the Inn Collection Group banner. It joins fellow Cumbrian sites the Glenridding hotel, the Regent hotel and Ambleside Lake House; North Wales venues the Bull Inn at Beaumaris and the St Kilda hotel in Llandudno; and Harrogate’s St George hotel in being added to the group’s portfolio in 2022.

Edinburgh-based commercial law firm Burness Paull provided legal advice on the transaction, while Neil Hart at Newcastle-upon-Tyne based Bradley Hall advised on pre-acquisition diligence.

Alchemy Partners sold the Inn Collection Group to a new company backed by the Harris Family Trusts and Kings Park Capital earlier this year in a deal valued at more than £300m.