Hotel owned by celeb chef and Daily Mail editor up for sale

Offers over £3m are being sought for Miller Howe, one of the Lake District’s best known hotels, by real estate advisors Colliers International.
The sale is being undertaken by Julian Troup, head of UK Hotels Agency at Colliers, almost 20 years after he sold the property overlooking Lake Windermere, on behalf of John Tovey, one of the original celebrity chefs, in 1998.

Tovey launched Miller Howe in 1971 with an investment of £53,000 and by 1989, and following several best-seller cookery books and a popular television series, the hotel and restaurant had become renowned internationally and his business had soared in value.

The property was later sold to Charles Garside, former editor of The European newspaper and now assistant editor at the Daily Mail, who managed the business with his brother and sister-in-law before selling it to the Ainscough Family.

The AA three-star hotel has 15 en-suite bedrooms, a restaurant with two AA rosettes, and a residents’ bar and conservatory. Planning permission has been granted for two additional en-suite letting bedrooms and to redevelop and extend the conservatory.

Julian Troup, of Colliers International, said: “Miller Howe is arguably the most high-profile and prestigious country house hotel in the Lake District National Park, offering unrivalled views over Lake Windermere.

“Its landmark status means we are confident of attracting strong interest from both domestic and international prospective buyers.”

He added: “Due in part to the fall in the value of the pound against the euro and the dollar, around 15% of our UK hotel sales in the past 12 months have been to overseas buyers and there’s every indication that this trend will continue and indeed, strengthen.”

Julian added that Miller Howe was the latest of the Lake District’s premier country house properties to be offered for sale following the recent acquisition by Thwaites of Grade II listed Langdale Chase Hotel, also overlooking Lake Windermere.