The Manor and Ashbury Resorts in Devon has been acquired by Evergreen Escapes Group, a new hospitality company making its first venture into the leisure property market.
The Okehampton-based resort, which offers over 100 holes of golf across seven courses, had been under the same ownership for 47 years with Joan and Simon Essex, who have decided to retire.
The Manor and Ashbury Resorts was first put on the market in 2022 with an asking price of £23m. The sale was handled by estate agency Knight Frank.
The acquisition is the first in an ambitious pipeline for Evergreen Escapes, which has defined a strategy to own and operate between 15 and 20 lodge parks and resorts within the next five years. The company was set up by Stephen Twiss who was previously CEO of Lakeshore Leisure Group, which specialises in self-catering holiday rental cottages, lodges and alternative accommodation.
The Manor and Ashbury Resorts is situated on two nearby sites totalling 546 acres on the edge of Dartmoor National Park, comprising 404 bedrooms and is recognised as the ninth-largest golf resort in the world, with five 18-hole golf courses, and 103 holes of golf in total, with over 115,000 rounds a year played by residents and visitors.
Alongside golf, facilities at the resort also include a range of different sports, craft, leisure and spa activities across both indoor and outdoor venues. The new owners plan to invest significant sums into the resort to improve its accommodation and leisure offering.
The business has grown beyond recognition from the original 10-bedroom manor house which was purchased by the Essex family in 1978 and consistently generates in excess of £15m annual revenue with a high percentage of repeat custom contributing to the success of the resorts, which attract over 135,000 guests per year.
Stephen Twiss commented: “The acquisition of The Manor & Ashbury Resorts marks the first step in Evergreen Escapes Group’s journey, and it couldn’t be a more perfect fit. It provides the ideal platform for us to realise our ambition of building an industry-defining portfolio of luxury escapes, bringing together holiday and leisure resorts providing an ‘escape the urban’ lifestyle to a multi-generational audience.
“We’re especially fortunate to be starting this journey with the exceptional 280-strong team at The Manor & Ashbury, whose passion for delivering outstanding guest experiences has earned them some of the highest levels of repeat visits in the industry. Their success is a testament to the fantastic legacy created by Simon, Joan and the entire team, whose vision has laid such strong foundations – and we look forward to building on that success together. Plans are already underway for an extensive room refurbishment programme, which will be the first step in a wider long-term development strategy.”
In a joint statement, Joan and Simon Essex commented: “Our 47 years of ownership have flown by, principally due to the skills, support and efforts of our totally committed team. We followed government advice in setting up a Share Incentive Plan in 2005. The plan has involved donating 49% of the company’s shares to the SIP so that separate issues of shares, across all staff, have been made every two or three years. The result is that 49% of the net value of the company will now be enjoyed, tax free, by 210 past and present staff. We are delighted that their efforts have been so richly rewarded. For us it the end of an era, and we have passed the baton on to Stephen Twiss and his experienced team.”