The FINANCIAL -- The new owners of Cliveden, who are due to exchange and complete on their purchase of the historic country house hotel tomorrow, intend to make the property "sparkle" again, according to Caterer and Hotelkeeper.

Ian and Richard Livingstone, the billionaire property developer brothers whose London & Regional company owns a portfolio of hotels including Chewton Glen in Hampshire, are buying the 41-bedroom Thameside hotel in Buckinghamshire from Ernst & Young, the administrators appointed following the collapse of Von Essen with debts of nearly £3OOm.

It is believed they are paying nearly £3Om off a guide price of £35m for a long lease from the National Trust.

The Victorian Italianate-style mansion, which came to prominence during the Profumo scandal of the early 196Os, requires a considerable amount of investment to return it to its former glory.

Andrew Stembridge, managing director of Chewton Glen, who will assume responsibility for the running of the Grade-I listed Cliveden, said the first priority will be to make the hotel feel loved and the staff feel proud again.

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