Walsh invests £1m in Cheshire hotel

Tadcaster-based entrepreneur and chairman of the Commer Group, Jim Walsh, is set to complete another key phase in the development of his character hotel group, Town and Village Hotels, with a £1 million refurbishment of the Lion & Swan Hotel in Congleton in Cheshire.

Every room of the 16th century former coaching inn is being improved and redecorated in a project to be completed in July. And the investment is aimed at creating a ready-to-run opportunity to attract a top-class leaseholder or director general manager.

"The ethos of Town and Village Hotels is to match quality properties with quality operators," said Jim Walsh, "and we are prepared to invest first to make sure we attract the highest calibre people to run our hotels. The Lion & Swan will be an excellent opportunity for someone. It has 21 bedrooms, a restaurant, bars, and large function and conference rooms.

"Congleton is six miles from the M6, close to the Peak District, and within an hour's drive of Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham. We expect an experienced leaseholder or, in exceptional circumstances, a proven director general-manager will be able to generate turnover in excess of £1 million."

The other properties in the Town and Village Hotels group, all character inns in North Yorkshire, are the 35-bedroom George Hotel at Piercebridge in Teesdale, where a major development in 2008 lifted turnover from £150,000 to £1million; the 18-bedroom White Rose Hotel, Leeming Bar, near Northallerton, which is currently undergoing a £250,000 development, and the 15-bedroom Bridge House Hotel at Catterick Bridge near Richmond, which has benefited from a continuous development programme over the last three years.

"I am convinced that there is an excellent future for this type of hotel, and am prepared to look at other acquisition or investment opportunities," said Jim Walsh.