Popular simchah venue the Hendon Hall Hotel has been sold and will close in December.

A spokeswoman said the sale would not impact on those who have booked events for this year. "We will continue to operate the hotel until the end of 2018 with business as usual.” Hotel representatives would be speaking to everyone who had booked simchahs. The spokeswoman would not say if bookings had been taken for beyond the closure date.

The property was bought by Hand Picked Hotels, in 2008, a company created by Julia Hands, wife of City financier Guy Hands.

Under previous ownership, the hotel was home to England's footballers during the victorious 1966 World Cup campaign.