A prominent Ipswich hotel has been sold, after the owners decided to retire.
Entrepreneurs Steve and Jane Denton have been at the helm at the 76-room Cameo Hotel Copdock since 2011.
Five years on, it has been sold to Cameron Ventures Group, which owns the 42-room Brome Grange Hotel near Diss and the 40-room Priory Hotel in Bury St Edmunds,
It was the first foray into hotel-keeping for the couple, who were from Cheshire, and had previously run a boatyard then a care home.
They had been on the lookout for a hotel when they discovered it was on the market, and snapped it up for an undisclosed sum around February 2011.
Their plan was to return it to its former glory.
The hotel has become well-known as a full service hotel operation with one of the largest function facilities in the county, the Suffolk Suite, which can seat 400 guests.
Tim Gooding, director at agents Christie & Co’s Ipswich office which brokered the sale, said: “We are delighted to have sold the second hotel to the buying company in as many years. We have experienced an increasing level of optimism in the market in recent months, and a sale such as this reinforces the confidence that we are seeing across the hotels sector.
“We wish the new owners all the best for their refurbishment and development plans. These are very exciting, and we are looking forward to seeing them come into fruition.”
The business, based on the Old London Road at Copdock, was one of 11 Elizabeth hotels placed on the market for KPMG around 2010/11. It had gone into administration, but continued trading until it was bought by the Dentons.
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