Oxford hotel in city centre placed on market for £2.75m

The historic property built in 1594 is positioned on St Aldates in the heart of Oxford city centre.

Museum Hotel has 10 bedrooms, two lounges with one of them still having a 16th-century original fireplace.

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The sale also includes the ground floor and basement, which is currently rented out as a retail unit to betting company Ladbrokes, generating an additional income of over £50,000 a year.

The sale also includes the ground floor and basement, which is currently rented to Ladbrokes (Image: Newsquest)

The business is owned by Zeshan Shah, who purchased the property in 2013.

Throughout his ownership, Zeshan invested time upgrading the establishment, converting the upper floors to provide 10-letting bedrooms as well as transforming the property to become the first hotel in the UK to provide keyless entry.

The hotel opened its doors to the public in 2017, and now offers a virtual check-in, where it has been set up to be easily managed remotely.

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Zeshan Shah, the current owner of The Museum Hotel, said: “You’ll be surprised to know that I was not a hotelier prior to purchasing 107 St. Aldates, with my main profession being a geologist.

"Nevertheless, I greatly enjoyed renovating the hotel, it was exciting to have a side project to focus on.

"It was important to me to be innovative and to appeal to a new generation. We have minimal on-site staff but the idea was to provide a virtual, one of a kind experience.

"However, after six successful years, I have decided it’s time for me to move on.”

Inside one of the hotel's bedrooms (Image: Colliers)

Museum Hotel is well-located within the city, directly opposite the Oxford Museum, as well as Christ Church and Christopher Wren’s clocktower which is under 500 feet away.

The hotel has been put on the market by commercial real estate specialists Colliers.

Peter Brunt, director of the hotel agency team at Colliers, said: “This is an excellent opportunity for any investor looking for a hotel in a prime trading, city centre location.

"The business has consistent revenue with visitors all year round, as well as having a significant added monthly income from the retail unit downstairs.

"Furthermore, The Museum Hotel offers alternative use potential because it also has planning consent to be converted into three self-contained flats.”

It is estimated by Oxford City Council that around seven million visitors are attracted every year, as well as more than 30,000 university students, generating £780 million of income for local businesses.