The Grand Hotel, Scarborough owners Britannia Hotels have bought Grade II-listed Midland Hotel in Bradford

The company, whose best-known Yorkshire property is The Grand Hotel in Scarborough, have acquired the Midland Hotel in Bradford, a Grade-II listed hotel built in 1885 for the Midland Railway next to Forster Square Station.

The 90-bedroom Midland is known for its ornate ballrooms, Victorian banqueting suites and past celebrity guests. It also had its own tunnel linking it to the railway station for the use of guests and staff.

Peel Hotels announced last year that they were selling the building, which becomes Britannia’s 64th venue, for £3millon via agents Christie & Co.

Britannia managing director Alex Langsam said: "We are thrilled to have secured The Midland Hotel as a new addition to Britannia Hotels in a matter of weeks, from first seeing it, to completing the purchase by way of an all-cash deal.

“We are well versed at being custodians of a wonderful heritage property, operating 'grand dames' including The Adlephi, Liverpool and our original Britannia Hotel, Manchester. We are very much looking forward to welcoming guests to The Midland Hotel, Bradford."

The Midland was the railway company’s showpiece for their presence in the north, and until 1960 was still connected to the platforms by a passageway which still survives.

Its bars, The Foyer and The Spirit of Bradford, have 110 covers between them and the restaurant can seat 60. There is also The Victoria Rooms, which is let to a tenant.

Peel bought it from local businessman John Pennington in 1998. The end of the steam age had seen the Midland fall into decay and it was derelict by the 1960s and through the 1970s and 80s. Pennington’s renovations opened up the ballrooms for the first time in nearly 30 years.

The stage actor Sir Henry Irving famously collapsed and died on the staircase in 1905 after performing at the Theatre Royal, accompanied by his manager Bram Stoker, who later created Dracula. The writer JB Priestley, who was raised in Bradford, stayed in the Midland when he returned in the 1950s to film the documentary Lost City. A poignant scene where he telephones old childhood friends only to hear that many have died, some in World War One while serving with the Bradford Pals, was filmed in his suite at the hotel.

Other guests include George Formby, every prime minister from Lord Salisbury up to Harold Wilson, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Laurel and Hardy. It was a popular choice for actors who came to perform in the local theatres, and the local Conservative Association would entertain politicians there. The local newspapers even published the hotel’s daily menus.