THE FORMER co-owner of the Georgian Hotel has spoken about the difficult journey he faced to save the building.

In an exclusive interview with the Herald, entrepreneur Richard Angel has laid out the challenges he faced.

Richard sold the Georgian to the Jaspar Group, a boutique residential developer, for more than £4.6 million.

"I, along with some private investors, bought the hotel out of administration in 2017," said Richard. "The opportunity was there to convert part of the building to apartments, beautifying it, and then, from the profits, help with the reinvestment into the listed building.

"When we bought the building from the administrators we then went through a very lengthy planning process. My view was the building needed to modernise, or it would die.

"The planning process faced huge opposition from some parts of the community, and vast support from other parts."

All-day dining and hotel group Coppa Club is set to open a bar and restaurant at the hotel site next year, subject to planning permission and listed building consent, and Richard says he played a key role getting Coppa Club on board.

"I first approached Coppa Club in 2018," said Richard. "I met Hugh Osmond at the Georgian and sold him the dream.

"When I showed Hugh around the building I expressed my thoughts as an entrepreneur. I knew then there was a meeting of minds, but I knew it would take a long time to try to do a deal with them.

"Then Covid hit and we had to make the difficult decision to close the business. It was the right decision not to reopen.

"We had to get the hotel on the market and sell it. I got in contact with Raj, the founder of the Jaspar Group, as I knew they could move quickly. They wanted control of the whole site and we sold to them.

"Jaspar Group then wanted advice on the listed building. I said there was only one deal to do, with Coppa Club. I facilitated the deal between Coppa Club and Jaspar Group."

Richard says he is proud of the role he played, and believes Coppa Club will be beneficial for the town.

"Coppa Club will be an incredible asset for Haslemere," said Richard. "It will create jobs. It maintains the listed building and modernises it.

"You need to attract people into towns. Coppa Club will act as an anchor which will draw in customers from far and wide.

"Come April it will hopefully be a reality. If I owned a business in Haslemere I would be so excited. It was a stressful process, but I’m very proud.

"I’m glad I sweat blood and tears to stick by my guns and deliver something right for our community. Had I known the turmoil I would go through, I wouldn’t have done it for my own health. I’m so proud I put my neck on the line to deliver it."