A hotel and restaurant reputedly a favourite haunt of Margaret Thatcher in her later years has been sold.

The Cottage in the Wood, in the Malvern Hills, has been acquired off a guide price of £1.75 million by London couple Nick and Julia Davies.

The Cottage has panoramic views across the hills and the Severn Valley and also played host to performances by Elgar.

It has 30 en-suite bedrooms across three buildings and its Outlook Restaurant has two AA Rosettes.

Gavin Wright, director of Christie + Co who handled the sale, said: "The hotel has been successfully run by the Pattin family for over 27 years.

"John and Sue Pattin will retire but their son and daughter, Dominic and Maria, will remain working in the business."

Christie Finance assisted the new owners with arranging specialist funding for the deal.

Director David Ward added: "After being offered non-favourable terms from their existing bank, we approached Mr Davies to help them find funding to purchase The Cottage in the Wood."