Mercure Blackburn hotel sells for £1.2m

The Mercure Blackburn hotel has been sold from an asking price of £1.2m.

The Haighs – former owners of the Sparth House Hotel at nearby Clayton-le-Moors - will rebrand the Mercure, Foxfields Country Hotel and aim to regain the excellent reputation that the Foxfields Country Hotel used to enjoy.

The hotel sits in nine acres at Billington on the edge of the Ribble Valley, an area of outstanding natural beauty and within 10 miles of the M6 and M65 motorways. It has 44 bedrooms including 28 suites, a health club and spa including indoor swimming pool, five conference and banqueting rooms and a restaurant and bar. Neil Thomson, associate director, hotels agency at the North West office of Colliers International in Manchester, secured the sale and said: "The Mercure Hotel was placed to the market confidentially in May 2014, and after a flurry of interest, experienced hotel operators Charles and Jean Haigh were successful in securing the purchase. They both have a huge amount of local experience which will serve them well for the future.”