County Durham’s luxury Seaham Hall Hotel has seen its asking price slashed by more than 60 per cent to £5 million, down from the £12.5 million it was initially listed at.

The five-star establishment is one of the portfolio of properties owned by the von Essen Group, and was put up for sale in March when the group fell into administration. Many of the hotels in the portfolio have already sold but property agency, Christie Co, said they were changing tactics for Seaham Hall.

“We are not just waiting for the most sizeable bid for Seaham Hall, but for the right bidder,” a spokesman explained. “We have had bids in for the property and we are considering them.”

Director of corporate hotels at the agency Jeremy Jones said they had recently secured more sales of the portfolio – including the Lake District’s 11-bedroom Samling hotel – and were expecting to be able to announce more soon.

“The von Essen portfolio has stimulated tremendous national and international interest,” he said. “The high interest in the von Essen Hotels portfolio is rapidly translating into completed transactions and we expect to announce further sales shortly.”

It is understood that the deal for the Samling fell only just short of the £6 million asking price that had been put on the hotel.

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