The sale of two Isle of Wight hotels, in Sandown and Shanklin, has been completed by the joint liquidators of the Carlauren Group, according to a statement via a PR company.

MC2 says Quantuma and Kroll have overseen a deal that includes The Auckland House Hotel in Shanklin's Queen's Road and Sandown's The Ocean Hotel and Kings House Bar, on Park Road.

The Sandown site had been expected to be developed over two phases in 2019, by the Carlauren Group, but has instead lain empty.

No jobs were saved at any of the hotels included in the seven property deal, which was announced this week.

The liquidators said all the hotels were shut down during the Covid-19 lockdown and those included are in various states of disrepair.

In March, The Ocean Hotel and Kings Bar were taken over by squatters calling for immediate repairs to be made.

Isle of Wight County Press: The Ocean Hotel and King's Bar, Sandown.

The Ocean Hotel and King's Bar, Sandown are derelict

When they moved in, they issued a 'no entry' warning and claiming a legal right to live there.

Led by an Isle of Wight filmmaker, they said they had hoped to "draw a bit of awareness to the heritage" of the properties.

They later left left the site, after discussions with the liquidators.

In February, a mix-up led to Sandown councillor Ian Ward accidentally announcing that The Ocean Hotel had been sold.

He said the information he had been given contained a typing error that changed its message.

Negotiations were ongoing at the time over The Ocean Hotel's future.

On April 21, 2021 the freeholds to seven properties, including the two Isle of Wight hotels, were passed to Phoenix Commercial Property Development Limited (PCPD).

The sale also included Eton House and Coverdale Court, Yeovil, Somerset; Hurst Manor Nursing Home, Martock, Derbyshire; Rosewell Care Home, Bristol; Clinton House/Tarrant House, St Austell, Cornwall; and The Coppice Hotel, Torquay, Devon.

Isle of Wight County Press: The Auckland Hotel, Shanklin.

The Auckland Hotel, Shanklin.

Organised by Carl Jackson, of business advisory firm Quantuma LLP and Philip Duffy, of Kroll Ltd, the deal sees the investor leases remain in situ.

PCPD says it will now negotiate with leaseholders about the further development and use of the properties.

Carl Jackson, CEO of Quantuma, said: “These were difficult and protracted negotiations which have turned out successful given the current circumstances and the outcome will benefit the companies and the investors.

"All of the companies listed in the sale were insolvent and this transaction now gives a chance for the properties to be funded in the future."

The Carlauren group collapsed into administration in November 2019.

At some of its properties, its business model saw investors paying for luxury care rooms, which were more like hotels, but some were never built.

Last year, the Insolvency and Companies Court was told that around £40m was unaccounted for, something that was denied by Carlauren's chief executive.

The Isle of Wight County Press has contacted new owner Phoenix Commercial Property Development for a comment.