The Pantiles hotel shut its doors this week and Companies House dates the takeover to 16 September. THE PIG's Groombridge Place plan was withdrawn in May.

The Tunbridge Wells Hotel on The Pantiles has closed, and the hotel group THE PIG has taken control of the company that ran it.

“The Tunbridge Wells Hotel is now closed,” the hotel’s own website says. “Anyone with an existing booking will be contacted shortly.” (The Tunbridge Wells Hotel, read 18 September 2026)

THE PIG confirmed the purchase on its own site this week, on a page headed “Coming to The Pantiles, Tunbridge Wells”. It describes the building as “an elegant 18th-century Georgian building on The Pantiles, currently known as The Tunbridge Wells Hotel”, and says the group has “finally got the keys to the next chapter in THE PIG story”. (THE PIG, Tunbridge Wells)

What the register says, and when

The company record is more precise than the announcement. THE TUNBRIDGE WELLS HOTEL LIMITED, company number 07991761, is still trading and still active. What changed is who owns and runs it.

Companies House records these filings, all made on 18 September:

  • 16 September 2026: Home Grown Hotels Limited notified as a person with significant control.
  • 16 September 2026: Julian James Leefe-Griffiths and Katherine Sarah Leefe-Griffiths ceased to be people with significant control, and both resigned as directors.
  • 16 September 2026: Vikki Alison Jerram and Kevin Richard Styles appointed as directors.
  • 18 September 2026: registered office moved from an address in Gresham Street, London, to Clayhill, Beechen Lane, Lyndhurst, SO43 7DD.

Home Grown Hotels Limited is the company behind THE PIG, and Clayhill in Lyndhurst is its own registered office. (Companies House, THE TUNBRIDGE WELLS HOTEL LIMITED; Companies House, HOME GROWN HOTELS LIMITED)

That matters for one practical reason. This was a purchase of the operating company, not just a sale of a building, so the trading entity carries on with new owners rather than being wound up. One director had held the post since the company was incorporated in March 2012.

How THE PIG came to The Pantiles, from the public record A timeline of five dated events. 18 October 2024, THE PIG's Groombridge Place applications are received by Tunbridge Wells Borough Council. 21 May 2026, all three applications are withdrawn. 16 September 2026, Home Grown Hotels Limited becomes the person with significant control of The Tunbridge Wells Hotel Limited and two directors are appointed. 17 September 2026, THE PIG's Tunbridge Wells page is published on its website. 18 September 2026, the registered office moves to THE PIG's own address in Lyndhurst and the hotel's website says it is now closed. Twenty-three months from Groombridge to The Pantiles Every date below is taken from a public register or the company's own website. 18 October 2024 Groombridge Place hotel, restaurant and spa applications received by the borough council 21 May 2026 All three Groombridge Place applications withdrawn 16 September 2026 Home Grown Hotels becomes the controlling party of The Tunbridge Wells Hotel Limited 17 September 2026 THE PIG publishes its Tunbridge Wells page 18 September 2026 Registered office moves to Lyndhurst; the hotel's website says it is now closed Sources: Companies House; Tunbridge Wells Borough Council planning register; thepighotel.com. Graphic by T Wells Today
The Groombridge Place scheme was withdrawn, not refused. The council's register records no decision on its merits.

Groombridge Place: withdrawn, not refused

THE PIG’s statement refers to the scheme it abandoned a few miles west: “Many of you will know that we had hoped to bring THE PIG to Groombridge Place. Whilst that wasn’t meant to be, we couldn’t quite shake the feeling that this corner of Kent still had a place in our story.”

The borough council’s planning register puts a date on it. Three applications for Groombridge Place, near Speldhurst, about five miles west of the town, were withdrawn on 21 May 2026, nineteen months after they were received:

  • 24/02714/FULL, the main application, received 18 October 2024
  • 24/02715/LBC, listed building consent, received 18 October 2024
  • 24/02996/ADJ, a consultation on the part of the site in Wealden district, received 25 November 2024

The main application proposed converting the buildings to a hotel, restaurant and spa, with a yoga pavilion, a vineyard restaurant, guest huts, sauna huts and a hydro pool, extensions to the main barn and courtyard stables, the relocation of the owl and raptor centre, car parking, a boardwalk and jetty, polytunnels and a glasshouse. It accumulated 264 documents before it was pulled. (Tunbridge Wells Borough Council planning register, 24/02714/FULL)

Withdrawn is not the same as refused. The council never issued a decision on the scheme’s merits, so there is no published reasoning to read.

The building

58 The Pantiles is Grade II listed and has been since 20 May 1952. Historic England’s entry names it The Swan Hotel, list entry number 1065935.

The list description calls it early 19th century: three storeys, wood stuccoed and grooved in imitation of masonry, pilasters flanking the front, an eaves cornice with modillions, and the whole thing built out over the arcade on four slender fluted columns. It notes an 18th century shop window in the arcade with the upper half of its glazing bars intact. (Historic England, list entry 1065935)

Listing matters here because of what comes next. THE PIG says it will spend “the coming months” uncovering the building’s stories and “slowly bringing our latest project to life”. Work to a listed building that affects its character needs listed building consent, and that is a public application anyone can read and comment on.

Nothing has been applied for yet. We searched the borough council’s planning register on 18 September. The most recent application at 58 The Pantiles is 14/01045/LDC, from 2014, for tables and chairs outside. The most recent application anywhere in the TN2 5TD postcode is from April 2025. (Tunbridge Wells Borough Council planning register)

What it means for you

  • If you had a booking, expect contact from the hotel. Its website says anyone with an existing booking will be contacted shortly. It gives no date and no refund terms, so keep your booking confirmation.
  • There is no opening date. THE PIG has not given one. Its own wording is “the coming months”, and it says THE PIG-on the Farm at Stratford-upon-Avon opens first, next spring.
  • Watch the planning register, not the press. Because the building is listed, the real detail of what changes will appear as a listed building consent application, with drawings. You can search for it at the council’s register and we will report it when it lands. Our running coverage is on the Tunbridge Wells planning news page.
  • The staffing question is open. Neither the company nor THE PIG has said anything publicly about the people who worked there. We asked no one to speculate and have nothing on the record.

Related: things to do in Tunbridge Wells and our guide to parking in Tunbridge Wells, which covers the car parks nearest The Pantiles.

Sources: THE PIG, “Coming to The Pantiles, Tunbridge Wells”, read 18 September 2026, with the publication date taken from the site’s own sitemap, which records the page as last changed on 17 September 2026; The Tunbridge Wells Hotel, read 18 September 2026; Companies House, THE TUNBRIDGE WELLS HOTEL LIMITED (07991761), filing history and officers; Companies House, HOME GROWN HOTELS LIMITED (07659273); Tunbridge Wells Borough Council planning register, applications 24/02714/FULL, 24/02715/LBC and 24/02996/ADJ, searched 18 September 2026; Historic England, The Swan Hotel, list entry 1065935; Food Standards Agency register, for the trading address, 58 The Pantiles, Royal Tunbridge Wells TN2 5TD.