Cheltenham’s most iconic hotel is up for sale

A hotel that's been the centrepiece of Cheltenham’s hospitality for almost 200 years, is a focus for VIPs, the racing fraternity and anyone who likes to stay at a prestigious address, is up for sale.

Dear readers,

We hope you’ve had a good week. Welcome to our Friday edition.

If you missed our look at The Long Table, the radical pay-what-you-can restaurant and CIC that expanded into Cirencester today, then you can read that here.

We have an incredible short story below (linked to a longer read) about efforts being made to raise £17.5 million for a new oncology centre for Gloucestershire in Cheltenham. We’ve just heard where £2 million of the £8.5 million already raised came from and wanted to share it, along with the word of an incredible effort by two brothers in their very early 60s who’ve raised several thousand with an amazing effort.

But for today’s main story, we thought we’d pick up on another snippet we’d heard from Superdry-founder Julian Dunkerton just to see how it stood up - the news that what is probably Cheltenham’s most iconic hotel is up for sale.

First of all, we wanted to make sure it was true. It’’s not that we don’t trust Mr Dunkerton, whose own hotel, No. 131 The Promenade, is adjacent to the business in question, but it’s always good to check if you’re going to publish something!

We were also curious why the owner had put it up for sale. It’s no secret that hospitality is difficult for many at the moment, but was that the reason?

We also wanted to know if a buyer was already in the frame, what would it mean for the well-known restaurant within its walls, Brasserie Blanc?

So many questions. You’ve probably guessed by now we’re talking about The Queen’s Hotel. The answers to all those questions are below.

As regular visitors will know we paywall some of our editions to help pay for everything this community interest company does - which essentially is to bring Gloucestershire some original articles about its business, charity, education and training sectors and help keep journalism alive. If you think local journalism is important, think it matters how the county is presented and who writes about it, and want to support those sectors mentioned above - then please do join the many who have already signed up and paid up to support us.

I hope you enjoy the read. Have a great weekend.

Andrew Merrell.

NB: Raikes publishes probably the best-read business-related newsletter, pound for pound, in Gloucestershire.

If you have a story, an issue, a news item, a charity or an interview, you want us to write about or investigate, challenge the powers that be on, please email me: andrew.merrell@raikesjournal.co.uk.

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Big Space Cancer Appeal target moves a step closer!

Money is coming in to the ambition Big Space Cancer Care Appeal, pushing it ever closer to its £17.5 million target - enough to build a new oncology centre for the county in Cheltenham. When it officially launched in September, an event Raikes covered here, it was announced the appeal has already raised an incredible £8.5 million. We can now tell you that £2 million of that came from the Gloucestershire-based Summerfield Charitable Trust. And news has just broken of another £5,800 being donated thanks to the incredible efforts of brothers Clive and Dave Organ, 60 and 61 respectively, who cycled more than 1,600km from Land’s End to John O’ Groats, and also climbed Mount Snowdon, the highest peak in Wales, while on the route as well! Another business has also signed up to support the campaign’s Lions at Large Sculpture trail. Cheltenham-headquartered international engineering giant, Spirax Sarco, has joined those sponsoring one of the Lions, which will form part of a fun family trail due to be unveiled in 2015. In the meantime the appeal goes on.

You can read more about the campaign, about Clive and Dave Organ’s intrepid trip, and find out why Spirax Sarco wants to be involved right here, in our PR Wire channel.

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Our to do list for the weekend…

Friday 8 November:

🎆 There are fireworks displays in Coleford, Horsely and at Stratton School, Wick Primary School and Shurdington School this evening.

🏉 Rugby fans are in for a weekend of treats, starting tonight. Ireland take on New zealand. Kick-off at the Aviva Stadium, Dublin, is 8.10pm.

🎭 Best-selling author Ian Rankin’s latest incarnation of his famous Rebus character is in a play called A Game Called Malice. It comes to the stage of The Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham, at 2pm and 7.30pm today.

Saturday 9 November:

🎆 There are fireworks displays in Chalford, Wotton-under-Edge, Ashton-Keynes, Tetbury, Fairford, Leckhampton, Quedgeley, Minchinhampton and at Cheltenham Racecourse this evening.

🏉 More Rugby. England v Australia. Kick-off at the Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, is 3.10pm. It’s live on Live on TNT Sports. The winner of this match will be awarded the Ella Mobbs Trophy.

🏉 Gloucester Rugby play the Cornish Pirates tomorrow at 3pm at Kingsholm.

🎭 The Barn Theatre in Cirencester will stage Room 13, billed as spine-chilling new play and inspired by the ghost stories of MR James. Due to take place at 2pm and again at 7.30pm.

Sunday 10 November:

🏉 Wales take on Australia at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff. Kick-off will be 4.10pm.

🤣 Former policeman turned comedian, Alfie Moore, brings the show that made him a star on BBC radio to the stage of The Roses, Tewkesbury, at 8pm.

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* Everything you read on The Raikes Journal is made possible by our incredible Founding Partners: QuoLux, Willans LLP, Gloucestershire College, Merrell People and Randall & Payne, our sponsors Hartpury University and Hartpury College, our Founding Members and wonderful paying subscribers.

If you upgrade to paid you’ll be part of this community interest company too. In an era when local journalism is all but gone and websites covered in pop-ups and full of advertorials, lists and unedited press releases, we are dedicated to delivering quality journalism for Gloucestershire, to championing the county, in particular its businesses, charities, education and training providers and to helping create an even stronger community. If you upgrade to paid you will be able to see past the paywalls on our second and third email editions of the week, that lock all our archive after two weeks and lock our rolling Top 100 Businesses in Gloucestershire, the series that follows the financial fortunes of our biggest firms by turnover. You will be able to comment on our stories too. You’ll be helping make this CIC sustainable. Please do join us.

If you sign up now you can take advantage of our 30 per cent off offer - and become a member for a year for just £84, which works out at £7 a month or £1.62 a week! Or go all in and become one of our Founding Partners or Founding Members, and overpay!

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Cheltenham’s most iconic hotel is up for sale 

A hotel that has been the centre-piece of Cheltenham’s hotel trade for almost 200 years, a focus for Royal visitors, the racing fraternity and anyone who wants to stay at a prestigious address, is up for sale. 

By Andrew Merrell.

The owner of the landmark Queen’s Hotel, once declared ‘one of the noblest buildings in Europe’, has confirmed to The Raikes Journal that the business is up for sale. 

Robert Jearrad and his brother Charles apparently modelled the palatial white regency building on the Temple of Jupiter in Rome, with the hotel opening for business on 21 July 1838. 

As expected of such a prestigious operation The Queen’s, named in honour of Queen Victoria, has accumulated a long list of famous guests since then, including General Sir Charles Napier, Edward Elgar and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. 

It even did its bit for the war effort, serving as a social refuge for women in WWI and as a military hospital. 

But now the landmark four-star 84-room hotel overlooking Imperial Square and Gardens, is on the market.

We spoke to the group who owns it, the town’s chamber of commerce, hospitality industry representatives to try to give you some insight. You can read all that below…