Sir Peter Rigby has extended his luxury hotel empire by snapping up Brockencote Hall in Worcestershire, one of the region’s top venues, in a £4 million deal.
Brockencote Hall, a Victorian mansion at Chaddesley Corbett, near Kidderminister, had been owned and run by husband and wife Joseph and Alison Petitjean for 25 years.
It becomes the fifth hotel in Sir Peter’s Eden Hotel Collection, which has rapidly become one of the UK’s leading privately-owned country house hotel groups during the computer tycoon’s aggressive acquisition strategy.
Contracts were exchanged on Monday for more than £3 million and the cost of a refurbishment of public areas and bedrooms is set to cost £1 million.
Sir Peter, whose stake in Birmingham-based Specialist Computer Holdings is worth £300 million, already owns the Michelin-starred Mallory Court near Leamington Spa, Buckland Tout-Saints in Devon, The Kings Hotel in Chipping Campden and the Arden Hotel in Stratford-upon-Avon, which opened last year in partnership with the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Under the Petitjeans, Brockencote built up a solid reputation for fine dining with two AA rosettes and Sir Peter has big plans to develop the gastronomic side of the business.
Mallory Court’s executive chef Simon Haigh, who has been awarded a tenth Michelin star, will oversee the new dining service at Brockencote and Adam Brown, currently at The Waterside Brasserie at The Arden has been appointed head chef. Brown has trained under Gordon Ramsay and David Everitt-Matthias at Cheltenham’s two Michelin star Le Champignon Sauvage.
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The grand property and the setting, in 70 acres of parkland with a lake and grazing sheep, is crying out for a big culinary splash and the venue, already popular with the monied county set, will be a major draw offering privacy to VIPs.
Unlike Mallory Court, Brockencote does not yet have a helipad but it is surely only a matter of time. Sir Peter is a keen pilot and owns his aviation group and airport (Coventry).
The hotel is set for a complete renovation. The Petitjeans invested heavily in the fabric of the building over the years and their professionalism and commitment were widely respected. However, the decor remained idiosyncratic and was growing tired in places.
Birmingham-based interior designer Nicholas Hollinshead, who led the refurbishment of The Arden Hotel, has been appointed to bring a broad sweep of deluxe modernity to the place.
Eden Hotel’s group managing director Mark Chambers told the Birmingham Post that a nine-month programme of renovations and the remodelling of rooms and public spaces was due to start in the autumn.
The plan is for the hotel to remain open while work is carried out in a phased operation.
There are currently 17 bedrooms and a small number of additional bedrooms will be created. The bedrooms in the main house will be updated to emphasis their classic architectural features, said Mr Chambers.
A private dining room will be created for discreet entertaining and original features such as Victoria chequered floors and arches will be reinstated throughout the property.
Mr Chambers said the plan was to make Brockencote into a “mini country estate” with fishing in the lake and a small equine centre.
He also confirmed food and dining will be central to the rebranding of Brockencote. He said: “Our ultimate aim is to go for Michelin star level.”
The Petitjeans, who had always dreamed of running a country house hotel, bought Brockencote for £600,000 in December 1985 and opened for business the following September after a massive building project, including the construction of a kitchen.
Mrs Petitjean, aged 49, said she and her husband, a 53-year-old Frenchman, had decided to sell because Brockencote required major investment to remain attractive to its well-heeled clientele.
She said: “The business was good. It was not in debt but we could see if we didn’t invest soon we would lose our customers who are used to staying in high-class hotels.”
Over the years, the couple had pumped £1.5 million into the business and it remained in profit, said Mrs Petitjean.
“It is a great, buoyant business and the staff are great, but there is a world out there and I want to see it,” said Mrs Petitjean, hinting at the pressures of running an independent luxury hotel.
She described it as a “relief” to have sold the hotel and was delighted it had been purchased by Sir Peter rather than a corporate chain.
>More: Richard McComb's restaurant review at Brockencote Hall>
