A prestigious Bradford hotel is part of a group being targeted by a property entrepreneur.

The future of the Hanover International, in Rooley Lane, is expected to become clear in the next few weeks after its parent company said it was holding out for a higher bid than that offered by tycoon Jack Petchey.

Mr Petchey last week bought six million shares at 125p each in the Hanover Group, giving him ownership of about 50 per cent of the shares.

Early today shares were trading at 126p.

But the group is understood to be reluctant to sell out completely to Mr Petchey's firm Trefick, which owns shares in a number of property and hotel groups.

It considers his offer - which is believed to fall far short of the 201p per share the company was valued at last year - as insufficient.

A source close to Hanover said it was also feared that the Isle of Man-based Trefick, which has no experience of running hotels, may decide to break-up the group and sell each site separately.

But Hanover employees are all shareholders in the company and are expected to reject the offer from Mr Petchey, who also has stakes in Queens Moat Houses hotels, property firm Ashtenne, and Warner Estate Holdings.

The four-star Bradford hotel is one of three in the group's 15-strong portfolio jointly owned by the Hanover Group and the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Despite that, the 131-bedroom hotel would still be included in any takeover deal for the group, which also owns a property in Keighley Road, Skipton.

Peter Eyles, Hanover's executive chairman who visited the Bradford hotel this week, is believed to be hopeful that another hotel company will make a higher offer and keep the group together.

The Bradford hotel originally opened as the Cedar Court about nine years ago and became part of the Hanover group in July, 2001.

It employs 150 staff.