The Pig to expand with new hotels in Kent and Warwickshire
The Pig hotel group is set to expand its litter with the launch of two new properties in the next two years.
The first, the Pig on the Farm, will occupy a 16th century farm located on the edge of the Walton Estate in south Warwickshire, less than two hours' drive from London.
Set within 53 acres of farmland, the stone-built farmhouse, barns, stables, and outhouses will be converted to a 35-bedroom hotel. It is expected to open in 2024, subject to planning permission.
"[It] was a working farm and is in pretty much derelict condition," the Pig's chairman Robin Hutson told The Caterer. "We think we can do something really interesting with it. There's a lot of talk of farm to fork, we're going to take the fork to the farm."
The second new Pig will occupy the Grade I-listed Groombridge Place, a moated manor house a short distance from Tunbridge Wells in Kent. It doubled as the Bennet family home in the 2005 film Pride and Prejudice, which starred Keira Knightley.
Initial plans for the house, which was built in 1662 and is set within over 100 acres of land, include the creation of 40 bedrooms.
Hutson said main house could become "the most romantic hotel in England" when it opens in 2025.
"It's a moated property and will be our largest and slightly grander than some of the other [Pig] properties," he added. "The moat had black swans, so I can see myself going off to try and find some swans to put in there."
Fruit and vegetables will be grown across both sites and there are plans to raise sheep, hens, quail, and pigs for the restaurants with rooms.
Neither property currently operates as a hotel, and both will require extensive work to convert to overnight restaurants with rooms. Hutson stressed that the Pig was working closely with Historic England and planning authorities to gain the required permissions.
The Pig group launched in 2011 and now runs eight boutique hotels in listed buildings across the south of England.
Private equity firm KSL Capital Partners took a major stake in the business last year to fund its expansion and Hutson said he continued to look for new locations for the brand.
"When you're looking for properties you kiss a lot of frogs, as it were, you see a lot of things. These days we get sent a lot of potential properties that don't get further than desktop analysis. Then you go and visit some and eventually one or two pop-out.
"I've probably visited half a dozen properties this year so far and seen many more cross my desk."
He added: "The [two new Pigs] are both pretty substantial projects, so we have plenty to keep us out of mischief."
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