Liz McGrath Collection (Pty.) Ltd., a recently formed South African company owned by a consortium of investors led by Belmond Ltd. (formerly Orient-Express Hotels) Founder James Sherwood, announced Thursday that it has acquired three South African hotels – the Cellars Hohenort Hotel in Cape Town, the Marine Hotel in Hermanus and the Plettenberg Hotel in Plettenberg Bay – from the McGrath family holding company. The price of the deal was not disclosed.
Sherwood created the new company with Moulton Investment Ltd., owned by Fred Alger, founder of Fred Alger Management in New York, and the McGrath family holding company, which retains a 20% interest.
Liz McGrath Collection will take over all the employees of the hotels and central management. Sherwood, speaking on behalf of Liz McGrath Collection, indicated that no changes in the management or operation of the hotels are being contemplated. The new owners plan to expand the number of rooms and facilities in step with increasing demand.
Due to the growth of tourism to the Western Cape (arrivals in 2016 at Cape Town Airport were up 29% over 2015) demand has increased for 5-star accommodation in the region. The plan is to increase the room count at all the properties but particularly the Cellars-Hohenort, which is located on a 10 hectare site in the exclusive Constantia
suburb of Cape Town, close to the world famous Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens.
The directors of Liz McGrath Collection will be Sherwood, Nicholas Seewer, who was general manager Africa and Belmond’s Mount Nelson Hotel for 20 years, as well as Alger, Ingrid Wheeler and Michael McGrath.
Liz McGrath acquired her first hotel, The Plettenberg, in 1987, followed by The Cellars in 1992, to which was added the Hohenort in 1993, and The Marine in 1998. She transformed the properties to 5-star level through what Sherwood called “her superlative good taste in decor, gardens and restaurants.” After she passed away in 2015 her three children continued to maintain the hotels, which are all members of the Relais & Chateaux group.
Sherwood said the shareholders had decided to call the new company Liz McGrath Collection (Pty.) Ltd. in memory of the woman who created the hotels and devoted her later years to their highly successful operation.