UK’s Champneys Secures £108m Loan Deal
Main Photo: Champneys at Tring, where it all started
Date: August 2022
Name: Champneys Health Resorts
Locations: Six locations in the UK: Tring, Liphook, Henlow Grange, Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Ashford and Mottram
Number of Keys: 538…and 249 treatment rooms
Owner: The business was acquired by the Purdew family in 2002
Lender: Cheyne Capital Real Estate
Champneys has secured a £108m loan from global alternative asset manager Cheyne Capital. Champneys has six resorts and hotels in the UK with a combined total of 538 beds and 249 treatment rooms.
The loan will be used to re-finance and consolidate Champneys Health Resorts’ existing loan facilities. It will also support the group’s five-year business plan, including renovations of the grade II-listed Mottram Hall in Cheshire and the Springs property in Leicestershire.
Alan Whiteley, chief executive at Champneys, said: “Part of Champneys’ long and successful legacy as the UK’s original and largest spa group has been its ability to adapt and stay ahead of the curve.
“With many new facilities and innovative treatments in development, we’re delighted to be entering into this exciting new chapter with Cheyne Capital Real Estate.”
Theo Hajoglou, of Cheyne Capital Real Estate, added: “As we emerge from the pandemic, two factors are clear. Firstly, that there is significant demand to travel once more and, secondly, that health and wellbeing is a major priority for consumers.
“We are therefore pleased to be working with Champneys Health Resorts, both a premier hotel group and a world-renowned leader in the wellness space, and to support their efforts to maintain a state-of-the-art experience for their guests.”
Duxhill Associates arranged the transaction.
Champneys’ story began in 1925; born from the ideals of the visionary naturopath Stanley Lief. Opening as a health farm and known as the Nature Cure Resort, it was the first of its kind in the UK.
Having been diagnosed with a seemingly incurable heart condition in 1890, a young Stanley sought a solution in the practice of osteopathy and diet. Self-cured by the age of 16, he went on to study naturopathy and ultimately, founded what we now know as Champneys in Tring after acquiring the estate from the Rothschild family. Pioneering the concept of holistic health and naturopathy, the reputation of Lief’s resort grew. With patients visiting from far and wide, its success was rapid and ultimately, lasting. Indeed, his embrace of holism and healthy diets and recognition of stress as a negative influence on health can still be seen in today’s medicine and practices.
Lief sold Champneys – which takes its name from former estate owner Ralph de Champneys – in the 1950s, changing hands several times before it was acquired by the Purdew family in 2002. Already owning Henlow Grange, Springs Health Farm and Forest Mere, purchased in 1981, 1990 and 1995 respectively, the four resorts aligned as one under the Champneys banner.
Loan: £108m
THPT Comment: Just goes to show, there are funds out there for the right deal. Well done both
First Seen: RPBi
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