A Mid Wales town’s premier hotel has closed and is to be put up for auction next month at a guide price of £375,000.
The Knighton Hotel on Broad Street, Knighton, closed its doors for accommodation and meals on Tuesday and some staff have already left, including the manager.
The remaining staff are helping property agents Sidney Phillips of Hereford with viewings before next week’s auction.
The hotel, which is in the heart of the town, is being auctioned by national licensed property agents Sidney Phillips on March 12 at 2.30pm at the hotel itself, with a guide price of £375,000.
Angus Jackson of Sidney Phillips said the hotel’s current owner John Rafferty was living in the Isle of Man where he has other business ventures which he wished to concentrate on.
He said the hotel had closed on Tuesday because of staffing issues prior to the auction, but any new owner would legally have to take on the existing remaining staff.
Meanwhile, the closure and auction of the hotel is concerning some local residents.
The town’s Mayor, Councillor Peter Reynolds, said people in the town had expressed their concerns to him.
“We are especially concerned in the present economic climate as to whether anyone will buy it.
“We certainly don’t want to see it boarded up again as it was before. People are expressing their concerns to me about this. We need a good hotel in Knighton – that is the bottom line – and it will be very sad if it’s boarded up for a long time.
“It’s part of the community. We have the community centre, but for smaller functions the Knighton Hotel was ideal. On Thursdays they had pensioners’ lunches and they were full, and for the Sunday lunches the car park was always full.
“We just have to hope and pray that someone will buy it at auction.”
A Journal reader who did not want to be named said: “We don’t want to see the hotel closed for a long period of time again.
“It was closed before for a long time and it was boarded up and it looked terrible in the middle of the town. It would be nice if someone local could buy it.”
The hotel, which has good public parking facilities, comprises a substantial 19th Century stone-built main building with function suite occupying the upper floors of a 16th Century former coaching inn and retains many of its original features including exposed walls and original timbers.
It offers three bars to seat 64 people, a restaurant which seats 60, a conference room able to take 30 people, a catering kitchen, 15 ensuite letting bedrooms and a function suite with a 400-seat capacity.
Historically an excellent level of turnover has been achieved with net sales for the year ended May 31, 2008, being £463,025.
For further information on the auction contact Sidney Phillips’ Midlands office on (01981) 250333 or visit www.sidneyphillips.co.uk
