The Topping family have sold the Barton Grange Hotel in Preston to a catering company in order to concentrate on their garden centre and newly-opened Flower Bowl entertainment complex.

The 51-bedroom hotel was opened by Eddie Topping and his wife Ada in 1951 in a small manor house they acquired in 1945. The original Barton Grange garden centre was added on adjacent land in the 1960s but superseded by the current centre in 2008.

The new owner of the hotel, Skelmersdale-based Mellors Catering Services, also owns the 81-bedroom Lancashire Manor Hotel at Pimbo near Wigan.

The company also operates over 285 in-site catering contracts in business and education premises across northern England. The Barton Grange Hotel will retain all current staff, with bookings unaffected by the sale

Speaking to the Lancashire Post, Barton Grange MD Guy Topping, said: “We are extremely pleased that the Hotel has been bought by Mellors. Like us, they are an award-winning, family business and we know they will continue the traditions of excellent hospitality and first-class customer service for which the hotel is known.”