Following the collapse of the von Essen hotel chain, a buyer has been found for one of the jewels in its portfolio, Cliveden.
Von Essen, which ran 27 hotels, fell into administration in April this year with debts of £300 million, and its portfolio was placed into the hands of administrators Ernst & Young.
Following much interest in Cliveden, the Grade 1 listed stately home, property entrepreneurs Richard and Ian Livingston's London & Regional property company has been selected as the preferred purchaser.
The brothers already own a property portfolio worth around £5 billion, and are understood to be acquiring both Cliveden – which was made famous by the Profumo scandal – and Bath's Royal Crescent Hotel.
Ernst & Young has revealed that the price tag for the 41-bedroom Cliveden - the freehold of which is currently owned by the National Trust - is £57.5 million.
Von Essen's total property portfolio has been valued by Christie & Co at around £203.5 million, with some of its other prime premises including the 19-bedroom Amberley Castle, in Arundel, West Sussex, and County Durham's Seaham Hall.
