_Completed sale of Aubrey Park Hotel, located near St. Albans

Aubrey Park is situated in a prime home county location only 40 minutes from central London. The hotel has been purchased by Somani Hotels Limited.

This is the second hotel Knight Frank has sold to the Somani team this year, following on from the recent acquisition of One Mill Street in Luton, which comprises 44 bedrooms.

Situated in Hertfordshire, Aubrey Park sits between historic St Albans and the town of Hemel Hempstead and is located close to popular tourist attractions such as Whipsnade Zoo, Harry Potter Studios and Barton Hills Nature Reserve.

Originally an 18th-century farmhouse, the property now comprises 137 en suite bedrooms, 6 meeting rooms, a self-contained modern conference facility, fitness space and award-winning restaurant. The grounds also include a 6-acre meadow surrounded by woodland and a landscaped garden which is available for event hire.

Hassan, Somani Hotels, commented: "We are delighted to have completed this transaction as strategically, Aubrey fits very well with our existing hotel portfolio. We are pleased to welcome the excellent team at the hotel, expertly led by Rafael Gonzalez, to our group and we look forward to investing in the hotel and staff whilst developing the business further."

Henry Jackson, Head of Hotels at Knight Frank, commented: “Working with Matthew Smith, this transaction was an example of brilliant teamwork achieving in excess of the guide price and in a timely manner. We received multiple offers for the hotel as investors were attracted by the potential repositioning and re-branding opportunities and the attractive location so close to London. We are excited to see how the team develop the hotel over the coming years.”

Over the last month, the Knight Frank Hotels team have concluded in excess of £42m of hotel sales and with a robust pipeline of transactions. 2023 demonstrates the demand from investors looking to deploy capital into the hotel sector.