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Power secures Great Northern with £3m bid
FORMER Peterborough United footballer Lee Power has been revealed as the man behind the £3 million-plus purchase of the city's landmark Great Northern Hotel.
FORMER Peterborough United footballer Lee Power has been revealed as the man behind the 3 million-plus purchase of the city's landmark Great Northern Hotel.After weeks of legal wrangling, administrators last night confirmed that a consortium of businessmen fronted by the ex-Posh striker had tied up a deal to buy the historic city-centre building.
Speaking to The Evening Telegraph, Mr Power outlined his grand plan for the future of the 159-year-old building.
He revealed that not only did he intend to keep it open, but he also hoped to oversee a wholesale revamp to transform it into an upmarket "boutique" hotel aimed at affluent professionals.
A detailed structural examination will be carried out by architects over the next few weeks, and Mr Power said work on the Great Northern's new look could get under way as early as this summer.
Boizot is pleased at sale
Pizza Express founder Peter Boizot has expressed his relief that the Great Northern will remain a hotel – but admits his sadness at no longer being involved.
Mr Boizot bought the hotel in 1994 and was still in charge of its day-to-day running when owner company Mistvalley Ltd went into administration in March.
He said: "I'm delighted to hear it will continue as a hotel. The nightmare scenario for me would have been that the new owners decided to knock it down for redevelopment.
"I'd love to be involved with the hotel again in the future, but I haven't been approached for any help or advice. I would hope to see it continue to develop and grow.
"My biggest frustration is that, with a little more help from the bank, we could have kept it going."
Related:
Great Northern for sale at 2.6m, 4 Mar 2009.
Looking Back: The Great Northern Hotel, 17 Feb 2009.
He said: "We are looking to completely refurbish it and are hoping to get things moving as soon as we know enough about its state of repair at the moment.
"We will be looking to do the redevelopment in phases so we don't have to close the hotel, and, if all goes to plan, we could be getting things started by about June time.
"Ultimately, we see it becoming some sort of boutique hotel. It's a lovely old building with a lot of really nice features, and we don't want to take away the tradition.
"We want to make it Peterborough's destination hotel for young professionals."
The Great Northern was put up for sale in March after previous owner, Mistvalley Ltd, went into administration.
Peterborough City Council was among the would-be buyers outbid by consortium Renelson Investment SA, which has agreed an undisclosed fee in excess of 3 million.
Geneva-based Mr Power, who scored nine goals in 46 appearances for Posh between 1995 and 1997, will be running the hotel through his Cre8 business, which is primarily involved in sports marketing and publishing.
However, he would not be drawn on which other Peterborough-based businessmen were involved in the consortium.
The 36-year-old's other business interests have included involvement with football clubs Rushden & Diamonds and Cambridge United, as well as an extremely brief and controversial spell at Luton Town.
What is a boutique hotel?
Boutique hotels, or "lifestyle" hotels as they are also known, tend to be luxuriously decorated with stylish and sometimes quirky design features aimed at young, affluent professionals.
They are usually smaller than most of the major hotel chains and are largely found in cultural havens such as London and Brighton, as well as luxury holiday destinations around the world.
Examples include The Gore in London's Kensington, which offers guests "Victorian opulence" at between 149 and 440 a night.
Other features include its own resident DJ, a "throne" toilet in one room and a bed which once belonged to Judy Garland in another.
Blanch House in Brighton promises "laid back hedonism beside the sea" for between 100 and 230 a night, and has its own fine dining restaurant and cocktail lounge.
Its Perrier Jouet suite is bedecked in green velvet.
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