A well-known Lake District hotel has been sold for almost £750,000.

Troutbeck Hotel and Holiday Cottages - in the hamlet of the same name between Penrith and Keswick, in the Lake District National Park - has purchased for £725,000.

The new owners are Alan and Nikki Fox, relocating from Swillington, West Yorkshire.

They have taken over from previous owners Kenn Elliott and Rowan Mahon, who are retiring to live in Scotland, and has also previously owned Haweswater Hotel in the Haweswater Valley and Cedar Manor Hotel in Windermere.

The pair took over at Troutbeck in 2008 and have refurbished the business and helped it to a rise in turnover and profits.

The Troutbeck Hotel and Holiday Cottages complex has seven letting bedrooms, a three-bedroom owners’ apartment and three, two-bedroom self-catering holiday cottages.

This deal was handled by the Manchester office of estate agent Collier International.

Haydn Spedding, associate director, hotels agency, secured the sale and said: “This significant sale of a high turnover Lakeland inn is further evidence of the market for such properties benefiting from the Lake District being awarded World Heritage Site status by Unesco.

“Kenn and Rowan established an excellent reputation at Troutbeck Hotel, complementing the self-catering cottages and high quality en- suite bedrooms with excellent food for which it became particularly well known while Alan and Nikki also bring invaluable experience in the trade.”