Indian investors confirmed as new Billesley Manor hotel owners

A FOUR-STAR hotel that was said to have been where William Shakespeare wrote one of his plays has been sold to Indian investors.

Billesley Manor Hotel is among a portfolio of ten hotels being sold off by The Hotel Collection.

It has been bought by the Burman family, promoters of Dabur India Limited, one of India’s leading Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) companies, in a joint deal with India’s BI Group, which operates in the hotel, real estate, publishing, and education sectors.

The sale was announced earlier in June, but the new owners have only just be confirmed.

The price they paid has not been revealed, but it was on the market for £8million.

And they have appointed Bespoke Hotels to manage the property, completing a unique milestone for the group, which first took ownership of the historic 16th century estate in 1999 before selling it in 2005.

The Grade II-Listed former stately home has 72 bedrooms, a health club, an AA rosette restaurant, two bars and ten conference rooms.

Many of its original features have been retained, including the ornate great hall, 100-year-old topiary garden with fountain and a library in which Shakespeare is reported to have written one of his plays.

Mohit Burman, director of Dabur India Ltd and representative of the Burman family, said: “We are extremely pleased to be part of the Billesley Manor team.

“We aim to fill a gap and enhance the quality of services to create a niche position. Bespoke Hotels will bring its expertise gained through management of several properties to the table and, together, we will work to deliver better services to our customers.

Shashank Bhagat, chairman of the BI Group, added:“We are tremendously excited by the potential of Billesley Manor. We look forward to building on the property’s well-earned reputation and utilising the expertise of Bespoke Hotels, under whom the business has performed so well in the past.”

Haydn Fentum, CEO of Bespoke Hotels, said: “We are delighted to be returning to Warwickshire and resuming our relationship with Billesley Manor.

“Having overseen our initial purchase of the property some two decades ago, it is a great source of pride to have been invited back to the helm and we are looking forward to working alongside the new owners.”

Martin Rogers, head of UK hotel transactions at Savills, said: “We are pleased to have secured a new owner for Billesley Manor Hotel.

"The sale leaves just one property left from the Project Solstice portfolio, of which we expect a sale imminently.

"The UK regional hotel market continues to attract both overseas investors and high net worth individuals looking for smaller lot sizes and long term income.”