After two rounds of bidding, brokerage firm Christie + Co. reported on Friday that 19 of 28 of the foreclosed von Essen Hotels are now under offer.
The auction comes after the U.K. hotel group defaulted on more than US$357 million (€250 million) in debt in April. The hotels, which include Cliveden House in Berkshire, Royal Crescent in Bath and Thornbury Castle near Bristol, continue to operate.
“As we anticipated, the portfolio attracted a great deal of interest nationally and internationally from a variety of operators and investors,” said Chris Day, managing director of Christie + Co.
London property magnate Andrew Davis founded von Essen Hotels in the 1990s. The firm fell into financial difficulty due in part to its aggressive acquisition strategy, along with an inability to maintain acceptable RevPAR rates at its pricey provincial properties through the economic downturn.