THE only five-star hotel in the region’s tourist capital has been sold for an undisclosed sum.

Four years after opening the doors to the new £30m Cedar Court Grand Hotel and Spa, in Station Rise,York, the Cedar Court Group has sold the Grade II-listed building.

Splendid Hospitality Group, based in London, will take ownership of the 107-bedroomed hotel from the end of the month.

The sale, which saw the property on the market for six months, attracted bids from national and international hotel groups, with Splendid clinching the freehold.

With a portfolio of 14 hotels, Splendid is an existing investor in York. As well as owning the Express by Holiday Inn near Monks Cross, the company is developing a new hotel in Walmgate, which will operate under IHG’s ‘Indigo’ brand.

Shiraz Boghani, chairman of Splendid Hospitality Group, said: "The York hospitality market is an exceptionally robust one and quite simply, assets of this quality do not come along every day.

"More importantly, York is a top UK destination people want to visit both for business and for pleasure and we look forward to working with the hotel’s management team to deliver a best in class service for our guests."

The Wakefield-based Cedar Court Group acquired the former North Eastern Railways headquarters for redevelopment in 2007, purchasing the property for £11m.