EDINBURGH boutique hotel The Bonham has been snapped up by a US investor group led by American fund manager Richard H Driehaus, writes Scott Wright.

The off-market deal means the 49-bedroom hotel, spread over three townhouses in the city’s west end, has changed hands twice in as many years.

The Bonham was picked up by US giant Starwood Capital Group as part of its multi-million pound acquisition of veteran hotelier Peter Taylor’s Townhouse Hotel Company in January 2015. That deal also saw Starwood acquire the five-star Blythswood Square hotel in Glasgow.

The value of the latest deal was not disclosed but it is likely to have run into the multi-million pound bracket, with the sale believed to have achieved the highest price per room commanded in any Edinburgh hotel sale this year.

Deals completed in the city this year include G1 Groups’ acquisition of The Scotsman hotel on North Bridge.

Kerr Young of property firm JLL, which acted for Starwood in the sale, said: “It is no surprise that the sale of The Bonham attracted significant interest from both domestic and international buyers, having long been regarded as one of Edinburgh’s most stylish and iconic hotels. Edinburgh currently boasts the strongest UK hotel market outside of London, with a thriving corporate, finance, tech and leisure market, attracting 35 million visitors each year”.