International Airlines Group
Who was the owner of Donington Hall from 2011 to 2013?
Donington Hall Donington Hall is a mansion house set in parkland near Castle Donington village , North West Leicestershire . The Hall and Estate was purchased in April 2021 by MotorSport Vision , which also operates the neighbouring Donington Park racing circuit . The Hall had previously served as the headquarters for British Midland International until it was merged into British Airways in 2012 , then was owned until 2020 by Stuart Garner , the former owner and CEO of the Norton Motorcycle Company as the companys headquarters . Norton went into administration with rights to the name being sold in April 2020 . History . The house was built from c 1790 , for Francis Rawdon-Hastings , 2nd Earl of Moira ( created Marquess of Hastings in 1816 ) , in a Gothic form by William Wilkins . It passed in 1826 to the young George , a foxhunting addict who kept his own pack of hounds at the hall in purpose-built kennels . George died an early death in 1844 at the age of 35 and was succeeded by his eldest son , 12-year-old Paulyn , who himself died in Ireland only six years later . Paulyn was succeeded in turn by his younger brother Lord Henry Weysford Charles Plantagenet Rawdon-Hastings , later 4th Marquess of Hastings and 9th Earl of Loudon . Harry was a profligate gambler and spent the familys fortune . On his own early death in 1868 , he left the hall in the failing care of his sister Edith Maud and her husband Charles Clifton , later Baron Donington and afterwards his two sons , the 2nd and 3rd Barons . In 1901 it was sold to Frederick Gratton , son of Lord Gratton of Stapleford Park . The Shields family . From 1902 , Donington was the property of the Gillies Shields family . The hall was requisitioned at the start of World War I by the British government and turned into a prisoner of war camp . While interned at Donington Hall in 1915 , the German naval pilot Gunther Plüschow made the only successful escape from Britain in either World War . In 1931 , the then owner of the estate , Alderman John Gillies Shields J.P . agreed to allow Fred Craner use of the extensive roads on the land for motor racing , thus creating the Donington Park circuit . The circuit at Donington Park was closed in 1939 due to World War II , when it was requisitioned by the Ministry of Defence and was converted into a military vehicle depot and storage area . With the whole estate needing extensive renovations after the war , the family rented the estate out as farm land . They retained the Hall , which after the Soviet Army ensured a Communist regime in Hungary , became a refugee camp for those who came to the East Midlands . A letter to The Daily Telegraph from the Gillies Shields and Joyce Pearce thanked all those who were providing clothing , books and toys for the children , promising that once the immediate crisis was over , it was their intention to turn Donington Hall into a home and school for children of all nationalities who now live without hope in the displaced persons camps in Germany ; their parents were our allies , their sufferings caused through loyalty to our cause . In 1971 , Tom Wheatcroft bought part of the estate , including the famous prewar racing circuit , from the Shields family for £100,000 . Corporate ownership . In 1976 , British Midland Airways purchased the hall from the Shields family to renovate and convert into their headquarters . British Midland Airways moved to Donington Hall in 1982 . The airline was subsequently rebranded as British Midland International , employing 800 workers at Donington Hall in 2007 . In 2012 , International Airlines Group announced it may lay off up to 1,200 BMI employees , with proposed layoffs mainly from the BMI head office at Donington Hall . In March 2013 the Norton Motorcycle Company bought Donington Hall from International Airlines Group . Norton produced hand-built bikes from a nearby building called Hastings House , previously BMIs call centre , while Donington Hall was an events venue . In 2016 Nortons chief executive Stuart Garner bought the neighbouring property to Donington Hall , the Priest House Hotel , which expanded his hospitality business . The combined properties are set in 80 acres of grounds , which are bordered by an ancient deer park and the River Trent . As of 2020 , the hall was being marketed for sale as part of a wider package on behalf of the administrator of the failed Norton business . Acquisition by MotorSport Vision . In April 2021 , it was announced that MotorSport Vision had purchased the freehold of the Donington Hall Estate comprising Donington Hall itself , former office building Hastings House , the Lansdowne workshops building and 28 acres of grounds adjacent to the Donington Park race circuit . It was confirmed as part of the announcement that the Grade II* listed Hall would be transformed into a 40-bedroom hotel , reflecting the historic association with the motor racing circuit . The hotel is planned to open in 2023 . Hastings House , the former British Midland International office , will be converted into the Donington Hall Motorhouse , a new facility for housing supercars , classic road and racing cars and motorcycles . The Lansdowne workshops , totalling 18,000 square feet , will be available to let for high-end motor engineering businesses which support the preparation and maintenance of vehicles kept at the Donington Hall Motorhouse and used on the race circuit . The upgraded facility will benefit from a private , mile-long landscaped drive from the original gatehouse by the circuit and include access directly to the circuit .