16 hours ago
Grade II-listed hotel used to house migrants goes up for sale for £1
A Grade II-listed hotel which was used to house migrants is being sold for as little as £1 after a property developer ran out of money to keep renovating it.
Na'im Payman bought the 43-bedroom Royal Hotel in Kettering, Northamptonshire, for £2.2m in 2020, and spent another £1m transforming it into a wedding venue and nightclub.
But after an investor who had promised to cover the rest of the project pulled out, Mr Payman has been forced to put the building on the market.
It will be auctioned in July, with a reserve price of just £1. But the hotel, which is being auctioned by online auction house, Howsold, will require at least £1m more investment, the seller warned.
Mr Payman said: 'This hotel has held a particularly special place in my heart, given its prominent role in the town and the deep affection the local community has for it.
'Unfortunately, despite my best efforts over the past year, I have been unable to secure the remaining funds required to complete the project.
'We had an investor willing to lend £3m, but they pulled out, so we have run out of time and money.'
The serial entrepreneur added that he would be happy to share architectural plans with the buyer to help finish the project.
He said: 'I anticipate it would still cost at least £1m to see the vision through, and hope potential buyers will see the amazing potential it still holds.'
The hotel has been stripped back to a 'shell state', according to the property listing, but still requires substantial further works.
It was first redeveloped into the distinctive Jacobaean style in 1878 by the Duke of Buccleuch, before being sold in 1896 to brewers Pickering, Phipps and Co.
While a reporter for the Morning Chronicle, Charles Dickens stayed at the hotel, the name of which was changed after Queen Victoria stayed in room 12 in 1844 on her way to Stamford in Lincolnshire.
But its recent history is less noble. The hotel was used by the Home Office and contractor, Serco, to house migrants between 2022 and 2023, with former MP for Kettering, Philip Hollobone, saying in 2023 that he had 'vigorously opposed' the housing of asylum seekers in the town centre.
Mr Hollobone said: 'Located slap bang in the middle of the town centre itself, this location has always been completely unsuitable.
