TADCASTER-based property investment company Commer Group has taken a 20 per cent stake in independent coaching inns operator the Bulldog Hotel Group.

The deal, for an undisclosed sum, sees Commer managing director Edward Walsh join Bulldog’s board as finance director and creates a platform for an acquisition programme which will see the hotel group invest £20 million over the next five years in a doubling of the estate.

Mr Walsh said: "We’ve built our property and leisure businesses by carefully choosing the right acquisitions and by backing the best people.

"Kevin Charity at Bulldog Hotel Group, is one of the best independent operators of regional hotels in the country, so this investment is a natural development for us."

The Bulldog Hotel Group owns the Old Bridge in Holmfirth and has other hotels in Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Gloucestershire and County Durham.