North East pub company snaps up Lake District property as major expansion across the north continues

The Inn Collection Group has bought The Angel Inn at Bowness on Windermere.

The 13-bedroom inn is set in expansive grounds and boasts views overlooking the fells and England’s largest lake.

The company has also bought a neighbouring 12-room bed and breakfast.

Both sites will continue to trade before a substantial refurbishment is carried out.

The deals bring The Inn Collection Group’s estate of freehold sites to 19 and its number of locations in the Lake District to six.

Managing director Sean Donkin said: “The Angel Inn is a unique asset in an absolutely outstanding location. We are excited to be adding it to our portfolio, broadening our customer base and enhancing our award-winning offering in Cumbria further with this stunning addition to our collection.

“The completion on both of these sites is the result of great working relationships with fantastic vendors and marks months - if not years - of searching for landmark sites in superb locations like this, as we continue to grow as a company despite the ongoing challenges of the pandemic.

“We will continue to welcome customers at the inn until planned renovations begin and look forward to re-opening as we respond to increased demand for staycation visitations and a predicted rise in domestic travel due to the combined effect of Covid and Brexit.”

The Angel Inn acquisition is the Alchemy-backed group’s eighth, heavyweight purchase of the year as it continues to expand with strategic ‘buy and build’ growth plans, supported with banking via OakNorth.

November saw the group add a trio of inns to its collection including Northallerton’s former Police Station in North Yorkshire which will be repurposed as a 32-bedroom pub with rooms. The operator bought prime Whitby site The Stables at Crossbutts and made its Lancashire debut with The Lindum Hotel in Lytham St Annes.

The Inn Collection Group’s Cumbrian roster includes two sites in Ambleside: The Ambleside Inn and The Churchill Inn; The Coniston Inn at Coniston; The Swan at Grasmere and The Pheasant at Bassenthwaite.

In Northumberland it has venues in Alnwick, Seahouses, Beal, Amble and Blyth, as well as County Durham and Lancashire while a 40-bedroom, new-build site on Sunderland’s seafront at Seaburn is currently under construction.

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