THE PIG Finds Its West Kent Home, Buying the Tunbridge Wells Hotel on The Pantiles

THE PIG has confirmed, in its own words, that its next hotel will be the Tunbridge Wells Hotel on The Pantiles - and the boutique brand's own announcement makes clear this corner of Kent was never far from its plans, even after its previous West Kent project fell through.

This site reported in May that THE PIG had abandoned plans to turn the historic Groombridge Place estate into its tenth hotel, accepting a private offer for the property instead. THE PIG's own announcement now confirms the connection directly: "Many of you will know that we had hoped to bring THE PIG to Groombridge Place. Whilst that wasn't meant to be, we couldn't quite shake the feeling that this corner of Kent still had a place in our story. As it turns out, it did." The new target is an "elegant 18th-century Georgian building on The Pantiles, currently known as The Tunbridge Wells Hotel" - a 20-bedroom property THE PIG says has "sat at the heart of one of Kent's most characterful addresses" for generations.

The hotel was sold by Julian and Sarah Leefe-Griffiths, who had operated it for 13 years, against a guide price of £2.695 million; the final sum hasn't been disclosed. The sale was handled by leisure property specialists Fleurets, now part of Graham + Sibbald, with Warners Solicitors advising the sellers. Julian Leefe-Griffiths said: "Warners did a great job in guiding us through the sale process and dealing with the negotiations. I was very impressed by the way Andrew and the team handled what was a significant and complex transaction for us... We are very grateful to the whole team for their advice and support in helping us reach completion." Andrew Hawkins, who led the deal for Warners, called it "a real pleasure to work with Julian and Sarah on the sale of such an iconic Tunbridge Wells property."

THE PIG says the building is expected to undergo a comprehensive refurbishment, with the brand's usual focus on "knowing who's growing our tomatoes" and "buying fish from the boats coming into Kent harbours." There's no firm opening date - THE PIG says it'll open another new hotel, THE PIG-on the Farm, next spring before it even gets to Tunbridge Wells, and describes still "uncovering the building's stories" on The Pantiles. Sources: THE PIG, Warners Solicitors