Grace Leo and Tim Hartnell acquire The Cooden Beach Hotel
The pair's acquisition of The Cooden Beach Hotel follows on from their recent purchase of The Red Lion Hotel in Henley-on-Thames less than six months ago
The Cooden Beach Hotel in Bexhill-On-Sea, East Sussex has been sold off of a guide price of £6.9m to international hotelier Grace Leo and her Singapore-based partner, shipping entrepreneur and hotel investor, Tim Hartnoll.
The Cooden Beach Hotel was built in 1928 and houses 41 bedrooms and a “popular” beachside restaurant.
The pair’s acquisition of The Cooden Beach Hotel follows on from their recent purchase of The Red Lion Hotel in Henley-on-Thames less than six months ago.
The Red Lion, which overlooks The River Thames, will re-open as ‘The Relais Henley’ later this year, having undergone a full refurbishment programme which has been personally overseen by Leo.
James Kimber, previous owner of the The Cooden Beach Hotel, operated the property for 16 years – however has said he is “ready” to hand over the keys to Leo, and he is looking forward to “maintaining a neighbourly relationship” with her and the team in the years ahead.
Andrew Moore, director at Christie and Co’s hospitality team, who brokered the deal said that the sale of the hotel represented a “rare opportunity to acquire a hotel in an enviable location”.
He said: “Such opportunities do not come along every day, so we received a high volume of interest from buyers hoping to capitalise on the ongoing UK staycation boom forecast to take place this year once Covid-19 lockdown restrictions are lifted.”
