A county hotel has been sold off a guide price of £2.1 million to a former BP executive.

In a deal brokered by real estate services company Colliers International, Beaumont House, on Shurdington Road, Cheltenham has been bought by Fiona Burke.

She has moved into the hospitality sector following a 20-year career with BP including a six year stint at Canary Wharf working in currency risk management and oil derivative sales.

The Dublin-born businesswoman was inspired to branch out on a new career by co-director Arron Howle, who left the oil industry four years ago to buy the Peartree Serviced Apartments Hotel in Salisbury - also through Colliers International.

Fiona has set up Willow Boutique Hotels - which is named after her daughter. She said: "Though the oil industry is an exciting place for a career and I thoroughly enjoyed my time at BP, following the birth of my daughter I started to look for a new challenge.

"I knew Arron was making a great success of his new business in Salisbury - and achieving a much better work-life balance.

"I'm planning to do something similar at Beaumont House as there is plenty of potential to build up the business, by adding more rooms and small suites aimed at the business traveller.

"They often stay over for two or more nights and love the idea of their own kitchen space. I also want to cater more for families and hope to add spa treatment facilities along with daytime coffee and cakes."

Peter Brunt, a director in the Hotels team at Colliers International, said Beaumont House was arguably the pick of Cheltenham's privately-owned guest houses.

He said: "This handsome property is believed to date back to the mid-nineteenth century and retains the elegant proportions of the period.

"Regularly used by well-known visitors to the town the Beaumont is easy to find on the A46 leading into the town and a pleasant stroll from the top of The Promenade.

"With a combination of Regency architecture, heritage and the proximity to the glorious Cotswolds, Cheltenham is a magnet for tourists and visitors with events and highlights throughout the year - which is why hotels in this class generate enormous interest when brought to market.

"Recent months have seen a flurry of competitive bidding for hotel, guest house and pub opportunities in the Cotswolds and reflect the attraction the hospitality sector in the region holds for buyers."