Champneys Buys Historic Buxton Crescent after £32m Backing from Cheyne Capital

Spa operator Champneys has acquired the Grade I listed Buxton Crescent hotel and spa in Derbyshire, after securing £32 million of investment from global alternative investment manager Cheyne Capital. The deal brings one of England’s most historically significant spa buildings into the portfolio of one of its best known wellness brands, and raises questions about how private capital will shape the next phase of UK destination spa development.

The acquisition, which includes the adjoining Old Hall Hotel, marks the seventh UK spa for Champneys as it celebrates its centenary year. Buxton Crescent will now sit alongside Tring, Henlow, Forest Mere, Springs, Mottram Hall and Eastwell Manor as part of a national estate that blends traditional health retreats with four and five star country house properties.

Buxton Crescent is one of Britain’s most recognisable spa buildings. Designed by John Carr for the 5th Duke of Devonshire and completed in 1789, it was conceived as the centrepiece of a Georgian spa town built around the warm mineral springs of St Ann’s Well. After decades of decline in the late twentieth century, a publicly backed restoration programme costing more than £60 million saw the building reopened as a five star spa hotel in 2020.

Yet the operator, Ensana, struggled to make the site commercially viable. In 2024 it emerged that the company behind Buxton Crescent had defaulted on an £11.4 million loan from Derbyshire County Council, part of the complex funding package assembled to rescue the derelict building. The property was subsequently put up for sale alongside the Old Hall Hotel, prompting concern that local taxpayers might never see the loan repaid.

Derbyshire County Council has confirmed that the sale of the hotel business to Champneys, in partnership with Cheyne Capital, will allow full repayment of the original council loan. The authority’s leader, Councillor Alan Graves, said the deal would protect jobs, secure the future operation of the Crescent and continue to attract visitors to the area.

The acquisition comes shortly after Champneys agreed a £32 million funding package with Cheyne Capital. The facility is earmarked for capital expenditure across the spa group’s existing four resorts and two spa hotels, including comprehensive upgrades of bedrooms, public areas, spa and wellness spaces, and food and beverage concepts.