A Hampshire hotel is to undergo a £250,000 makeover and a Masterchef semi-finalist is to run its new restaurant.

B+B Wickham Ltd has sold the leasehold of Old House Hotel in Wickham to GA Gourmet Ltd for an undisclosed sum.

The new owner will invest circa £250,000 in refurbishing and upgrading the Grade II* listed period property in the coming weeks,.

They will also partner with Greg Emmerson, semi-finalist on BBC One’s MasterChef in 2018, to bring the previously closed restaurant back to life as Table 22.

The restaurant will offer breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner to both residents and non-residents, while the 12-bedroom hotel will be operated under its former name of The Old House Hotel.

Andy Goodson, owner of GA Gourmet Ltd, comments: “I ran a successful property business for 23 years and was looking for a new venture, so when the opportunity arose to take over Old House Hotel in Wickham Square I wanted to grab it with both hands. I’ll be partnering with my daughter Gemma Goodson, a Wickham local, and culinary expert Greg Emmerson to run the business. Our goal is to make it the most popular hotel in the area coupled with a superb fine dining restaurant.”

B+B Wickham Ltd operates four other bed and breakfast businesses and restaurants in London, Weymouth, York and Edinburgh under the B+B collection. The Wickham property has been sold to enable the group to focus on its existing estate and to acquire larger opportunities nationally.