Raithwaite Sandsend sold off guide price of £12m

Award-winning hotel Raithwaite Sandsend, located in Whitby, North Yorkshire, has been sold as a joint venture to property developers Galliard Homes and O’Shea Group off a guide price of £12m. 

Raithwaite is located on the outskirts of Sandsend Village, Whitby, allowing visitors to enjoy coastal attractions including Sandsend Beach and Robin Hood’s Bay, as well as the North Yorkshire Moors. 

The hotel features 73 contemporary en-suite bedrooms, including a self-contained block, ‘The Hide’, as well as spa and leisure facilities, which include an indoor heated swimming pool, steam room, sauna and four treatment rooms. 

According to Knight Frank, who handled the sale, the opportunity was a “particularly unique” one owing to the hotel’s extensive land, spanning circa 85 acres, on which approved planning permission was granted for a 30-bedroom extension to the hotel, as well as permission for 190 holiday dwellings, comprising cottages, apartments, lodges, and villas, as well as a retail village.  

The site became an official carbon neutral business in July 2022, complete with its own biomass plant, and also has a fully operational kitchen garden on-site which provides produce for the hotel’s in-house restaurant, with a menu focussed on seasonality, locality and zero waste. 

Mark O’Connor, investment director at O’Shea Group, said: “We are incredibly excited to be taking the reins at Raithwaite Sandsend. Already recognised as one of the most sustainable hotels in the UK, Raithwaite Sandsend is uniquely positioned between the coast and North York Moors National Park offering guests unrivalled views and only moments from the historic town of Whitby.

“The team behind the project are looking forward to expanding the offering at the hotel, alongside developing the accompanying holiday lodges, cottages, and coastal villas. We will also be investing into an artisan village filled with bespoke shopping and dining experiences as well as a state-of-the-art wellness centre. We believe that Raithwaite Sandsend will become one of the UK’s leading retreats, with a key focus on sustainability and wellbeing.” 

Henry Jackson, head of Hotel Agency and partner at Knight Frank, added: “We are delighted to have concluded the sale of Raithwaite Sandsend to joint buyers Galliard Homes and O’Shea Group. 

“Operating as a highly successful carbon neutral business, with exciting expansion opportunities across the site, the hotel attracted very strong interest from a range of potential buyers, with multiple offers received. We are excited to see how the hotel and estate develops and expect visitor attraction to bolster over the coming years.”

Max Hunter of Maritime Capital, representing the owners, concluded: “We would like to take this opportunity to thank all the excellent and talented team at Raithwaite who have worked so hard to create this first-class hotel. Raithwaite’s next chapter looks very exciting, and we are delighted that it is in such safe hands.”