The Hallmark Hotel in Carlisle has a new owner.

The hotel in Court Square next to Carlisle train station is one of the 26 in the Hallmark Hotels portfolio that has been bought for £250 million by a consortium of overseas investors.

An Israeli investment fund working with LGH Hotels Management has bought the chain from Topland Group, one of the world’s largest privately-owned property and investment groups headed by the billionaire Zakay brothers.

The deal represents a significant return for Topland Group, which bought 12 Hallmark Hotels for £75m in 2014. It then added the Menzies chain of hotels it had purchased in the previous year to the Hallmark brand.

Topland Group’s hotel portfolio still includes Bath’s Royal Crescent Hotel, the Brighton Metropole, the Glasgow Hilton and the Thistle Hotels chain.

LGH Hotels Management Limited manages the operation of mid and upscale hotels, under global brands, Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn. The addition of Hallmark Hotels more than doubles its portfolio of 21 hotels across the UK.

Topland Group, which is run in the UK by Sol Zakay, said it was now on the look-out to grow its portfolio following the Halmark Hotels deal.

The company said it was actively looking for new opportunities on individual or portfolio hotel acquisitions, hotel development, hotel financing and hotel joint ventures as well as to expand the current portfolio of Hilton and Thistle Hotels.