Crazy Bear Closes; Brakspear Buys Freeholds, ~130 Jobs Hit

By Nathan Snyder, Editor

England’s Crazy Bear boutique hotels in Stadhampton and Beaconsfield have closed after BDO was appointed administrator on Oct. 27 — the brand’s second collapse in under two years — with the freeholds sold to pub group Brakspear for an undisclosed sum while hotel operations, bookings and most of about 130 jobs were not preserved.

Administration and Immediate Closure

On Oct. 27, 2026, Kiri Holland and Danny Dartnaill of BDO LLP were appointed joint administrators of CB Opportunities 3 Ltd and CB Opportunities 4 Ltd, the parent companies of the hotels, per the Crazy Bear / BDO customer notice. The companies ceased to trade. Hotels closed immediately; all event, room, spa and restaurant bookings were cancelled; gift vouchers are no longer valid.

By Oct. 29, The Caterer (Emma Lake) reported the freehold properties had been sold to Brakspear. Administrators said the sales process produced a successful freehold sale and that hotel operations could not be preserved. Brakspear intends a programme of refurbishment works. Harden’s (Oct. 30) reported Brakspear is “expected to reopen the two venues next year” — treat reopen timing and format (pub vs hotel) as trade expectation until Brakspear confirms.

About 130 employees were affected; the majority were made redundant, with a small number retained to assist administrators, per The Caterer, Oxford Mail and Harden’s. Administrator Holland said the business was “impacted by challenging market conditions and a quieter than expected summer trading period,” with priority to support employees and affected customers.

Room Counts Differ — Attribute, Don’t Average

The Caterer puts Stadhampton at 23 boutique bedrooms and Beaconsfield at 35 bedrooms. The Oxford Mail separately describes Stadhampton with 18 rooms. Those figures disagree; The Hotelier Times is not reconciling or averaging them without primary confirmation. Beaconsfield had launched Fable (chef Pete Gray / Peter Gray) about a week before administration; the prior chef’s-table Bear by Carlo Scotto had closed after roughly three months, per The Caterer and Harden’s.

This is the group’s second administration in under two years. After a December 2024 administration, directors acquired the business in a January 2025 pre-pack for £6.5 million, per The Caterer (~$8.71 million at GBP/USD 1.3399 — that figure is the prior director buyout, not the Brakspear freehold price). The Brakspear purchase price was not disclosed.

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