A HOTEL in the heart of the Lake District has been sold to a leading Northern hospitality group.

The Victorian Waterhead Hotel, which overlooks Coniston Water, has been acquired by The Inn Collection Group for an undisclosed amount.

The deal was brokered by real estate advisors Colliers International, acting on behalf of the Post Office Fellowship of Remembrance.

The former manor house has operated as a hotel for more than 100 years and is the first acquisition by the group outside the North East of England, where it operates seven sites across County Durham, Northumberland and North Yorkshire.

Waterhead has 24 en suite bedrooms, public areas, a restaurant and conference and meeting rooms, set in four acres of landscaped grounds and fronting on to Coniston Water with access jetty.

Julian Troup, head of UK hotels agency at Colliers International, said: “As a landmark country house hotel in a prime location, Waterhead Hotel attracted a significant level of interest, resulting in formal offers in excess of the guide price from a diverse range of overseas and domestic buyers.

“Its sale is indicative of an unprecedented level of interest from buyers wanting to acquire UK provincial hotels, with the Lake District continuing to be Colliers’ most productive area in the UK.

“This heightened demand for property in the Lakes is partly because of it being designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.”

Waterhead is the 15th hotel or hospitality-related business sold by Colliers International in 2018, Mr Troup said, which was a record number for this time of year.