INTERNATIONAL entrepreneur and estate developer Paul Oberschneider has bought the 36-bedroom Weston Manor Hotel at Weston-on-the-Green, near Bicester.

Mr Oberschneider, who moved to Oxfordshire from London last year, said: “I plan to spend about £2m refurbishing Weston Manor. It’s a beautiful place.”

The plans include a new spa along with a larger swimming pool and tennis courts for the 11-acre grounds.

Lise and Dudley Osborn, who have owned the hotel for more than 28 years, have decided to retire after more than 50 years in the hotel business.

Mr Oberschneider, who has developed property in central and eastern Europe, added: “The idea is to create a really attractive place for local people — without being too expensive.

“Given the historic pedigree of the hotel, I want it to feel as though you are in an elegant country house.

“But I also want people to be able to come in with their dirty boots and their dogs and to feel at home.

“I play tennis and I know that it is sometimes hard to find a court and I hope people will stay for lunch after enjoying a game.”

Mr Oberschneider, who bought the hotel for an undisclosed sum, added that food will consist of local organic produce served in a casual setting.

Mr Oberschneider went to eastern Europe in 1992 and built up a real estate business covering seven different countries. He established the Schlössle Hotel Group which now has four hotels in Estonia, Latvia and Poland.

Weston Manor dates back to the 11th century. In the early 16th century its baronial hall was the bailiffs court for Osney Abbey which owned the house before Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries. It was converted into a hotel in the late 1940s.