Families team up in deal to take St Annes hotel to the next level

A St Annes hotel is set to get a revamp following a deal between two Fylde coast families handled by a county solicitors.
Pictured at the Carlton Hotel, St Annes are, left to right  James and Steve Smith with Colette Barrett from NatWest, Vincents Solicitors Craig Aikman and Roger BanksPictured at the Carlton Hotel, St Annes are, left to right  James and Steve Smith with Colette Barrett from NatWest, Vincents Solicitors Craig Aikman and Roger Banks
Pictured at the Carlton Hotel, St Annes are, left to right James and Steve Smith with Colette Barrett from NatWest, Vincents Solicitors Craig Aikman and Roger Banks

Vincents Solicitors’ Craig Aikman has facilitated a deal that will see the reinvigoration of the Carlton Hotel on South Promenade.

Entrepreneur Steve Smith and his family have joined forces with Roger Banks, whose family has owned the seafront hotel for 23 years.

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The pair have secured a significant investment from NatWest to fund an improvement programme which will see each of the 16 bedrooms refurbished and the ground floor space transformed.

Changes will be made to the bar and Banksy’s café which will be open in the daytime to make the most of the busy tourist location in the pier area.

A truly family affair, Steve’s wife Dina and son James will join Roger’s mother Johannah front of house, Johannah having originally bought the hotel in 1997.

Roger will continue to run the business with the support of Steve as the pair seek to grow and expand.

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Roger said: “I was looking for an investor to come in to help take the hotel to the next level. We’ve got a great product and a loyal customer base, but we know there is still more that we can do.

“Craig introduced me to Steve and to NatWest and brought together the deal very quickly and very smoothly.

“We’re really pleased to have the Smith family on board. They bring with them an enormous amount of skill and experience, huge enthusiasm and a similar ethos for what we’re trying to achieve, creating a contemporary family-friendly hotel and providing a fantastic holiday experience for guests.”

St Annes-based Steve, a founder and executive director of electrical goods distributor, the MM Group Ltd in Wigan, was looking for a new challenge closer to home. He said: “Craig’s intuition that Roger and I would work well together was spot on and the business opportunity is exactly what I was looking for.

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“The hotel is in a fantastic position on the Prom in St Annes and has the potential to be something really special. Roger’s enthusiasm and drive for the business are what encouraged me to jump on board.”

Craig Aikman, Head of Commercial Property for Vincents Solicitors, said: “Having worked with both Roger and Steve for many years I knew they would get along and had the complementary skills that could really grow this business.”

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