Warner Leisure Hotels Boosts Portfolio with Two New Landmark Hotels

London, October 2, 2023 – Warner Leisure Hotels, the UK’s only hotel chain to cater exclusively for adults and a Bourne Leisure portfolio company, today announces the continued expansion of its portfolio with the acquisition of two high-quality hotels – Dalmahoy Hotel and Country Club, near Edinburgh, and Forest of Arden Country Club, near Birmingham.

Dalmahoy Hotel and Country Club, Warner Leisure Hotels’ first hotel in Scotland, is an attractive Grade A manor house set in over 1,000 acres and only 30 minutes from Edinburgh city centre and 50 minutes from Glasgow. The 4-star hotel has 215 bedrooms, with two golf courses, two restaurants, two bars, a leisure club, tennis courts and conference facilities.

The Forest of Arden Country Club is a 4-star golf hotel, located in the Midlands and only a 20-minute drive from Birmingham. The hotel is set in over 10,000 acres of woodlands and has 214 bedrooms, multiple lounges and bars, two golf courses including a championship course, tennis courts, a leisure club and conference facilities.

Since acquiring Bourne Leisure in 2021, which includes the UK’s leading holiday park provider, Haven, Blackstone has invested over £450m across its holiday parks and hotels. The commitment to Warner Leisure Hotels’ growth story is reflected in its investment of almost £120m to renovate, refurbish and expand the portfolio

Warner Leisure Hotels offers short breaks with great food and drink, spas and live music. Hotels include the recently refurbished Heythrop Park, in the Cotswolds, which opened in September 2022, Studley Castle in Warwickshire, and the recently acquired Runnymede on Thames in Greater London, which is set to reopen in Summer 2024. The latest acquisitions take Warner Leisure Hotels’ total portfolio to 18, with over 4,000 rooms.

Paul Flaum, CEO, Bourne Leisure, said: “We are delighted to add these two wonderful hotels to our portfolio, each with fantastic facilities and both in excellent locations, including our first ever hotel in Scotland. Our confidence in the future growth prospects of the company continues and we look forward to redeveloping the hotels to a high-quality signature Warner Leisure Hotels offering.

"The compelling brand and short break proposition, which includes entertainment, dining and daytime activities at the hotel, mean our guests continue to return to enjoy the unique experience that Warner Leisure Hotels offers. We very much look forward to introducing a whole new audience to the experience too.”

Lionel Assant, Head of European Private Equity and James Seppala, Head of European Real Estate, Blackstone, said: “These acquisitions reflect our continued confidence not only in the UK domestic tourism sector but in the Warner Leisure Hotels brand. Acquiring these two landmark hotels marks the next step in the company’s growth story as we continue to look for opportunities to add high-quality hotels to the portfolio and to invest significant capital in repositioning them.”

Prior to their relaunch under the Warner Leisure Hotels brand, Dalmahoy Hotel and Country Club and Forest of Arden Country Club will continue to be independently managed under their current proposition.