THREE prominent Bournemouth hotels with sea views have been bought up by a Qatari firm.

The Suncliff Hotel, Cumberland Hotel and Cliffeside Hotel, offering a total of 282 bedrooms between them, were snapped up for £16 million.

And the move could be the start of huge investment in the town with Kuwait and the Emirates also looking for development opportunities here.

The Echo understands that government and business representatives from all three countries have been invited to this year's air festival to discuss the potential of the town with business and civic leaders.

Tobias Ellwood, MP for Bournemouth East before the dissolution of Parliament, has been promoting Bournemouth overseas in his capacity as a foreign officer minister responsible for the Middle East.

He said: "It's great to see Bournemouth being considered alongside the likes of London, Birmingham and Manchester.

"We are talking about significant and long term investment in the town and that Bournemouth is on the radar of Kuwait, Qatar and the Emirates.

"This is testament to what Bournemouth has to offer, financial services, the digital economy and a fantastic location by the sea."

He added: "I have spoken to government ministers across the Middle East about what Bournemouth has to offer."

The Art Deco-style, three-star Cumberland Hotel is the highest-rated hotel of the group, all of which are next to each other in East Overcliff Drive, while Suncliff is the largest with 114 bedrooms.

Kevin Wood, managing director at the Cumberland, said in a statement that all three of Oceana Hotels’ businesses in the town had been bought “by a successful Qatari group”.

He added: “All of us at the hotels are delighted at this acquisition including current business owners Brian Shone and Terence Taylor who acquired the resort in 2006.

“The deal will not only give security to over 200 staff, but will provide more jobs for the town and opportunities for the team. The management structure and staff will remain exactly the same although my role will now be head of Europe operations, based in Bournemouth.

“Within the family of the Qatari group are many five-Star hotels in Asia, Middle East, Europe and London, as well as other major retail, health, housing and real estate businesses worldwide.

"Investment will be made at the East Cliff resort site, which will add to the positive development in Bournemouth. The new parent company are delighted to be doing business in Dorset, and have found the staff and local community charming."

Martin Rogers, head of hotels at Savills, which brokered the deal, said: "These prime hotels offer multiple revenue streams and appeal to a wide range of guests including corporate, private leisure and group tours.

"The portfolio generated significant interest and we are pleased with the sale price which emphasises the strength of the hotel market in the regions."

Peter Matthews, president of Bournemouth Chamber of Trade and Commerce, said: "The chamber welcomes all investment in Bournemouth, particularly at this time. We seem to be Booming Bournemouth.

"The amount of investment that's been attracted to Bournemouth is absolutely brilliant and reflects the hard work of a lot of people to encourage people to invest here.

"I can't remember in my 10 years seeing so many cranes, so much construction, so much building."