Nigel Mansell has sold the imposing Woodbury Park Hotel Golf and Country Club complex in Devon for an estimated £18 million.

The purchasers are his next door neighbours Sue and Robin Hawkins. Two years ago they paid the Mansells almost £5 million for the adjoining seven-bedroomed house Merehaven Manor, built a dozen years ago in 50 acres.

The new owners have assured staff that it will be business as usual on the 18-hole championship Oaks course and the nine-hole Acorns lay-out as well as on the extensive leisure and hotel premises.

The Hawkins's, who made their millions through the property market, want to raise the golf course, leisure facilities, country club and four-star hotel to a new level.

The former world champion racing driver will maintain his links with the club by acting as an "ambassador." But he has spent very little time in Devon in recent years and has been resident in Jersey for a decade.

He introduced professional golf tournaments to the quiet rural Devon countryside near Exmouth and Budleigh Salterton, first with the West Region PGA Championship, in which he played, and later the European Seniors' Tour.

The veteran golfers were hosted at Woodbury Park for three years and attracted crowds around 15,000.

The sale is one of the biggest property deals in Devon in recent years although it had not been officially on the market. There had been rumours for a long time that Mansell and his wife Rosanne were seeking buyers.

Exeter estate agent Richard Greetham, who handled the sale, said: "Nigel did not want to sell because he loves the place and the people but living, as he does, most of the time in the Channel Isles and having two sons in Formula III racing, he thought he couldn't be in two places at once."

Mansell invested nearly £10 million to redevelop a site that contained just a golf course and no infrastructure when he moved in.

His spokeswoman Nicki Dance said: "Nigel and Rosanne have thoroughly enjoyed what has been a real challenge during their time at Woodbury Park and have been personally involved in every step of its development into the prestigious first-class leisure and golf complex it is today.

"While not actively looking to move, Nigel and Rosanne made the difficult decision to sell to Sue and Robin, who they knew previously, in the belief that they will take the business forward using the same ethics and values which Nigel and Rosanne have been instrumental in establishing.

"Nigel and Rosanne wish Sue and Robin, and all the dedicated staff at Woodbury Park, all the very best for the future and they are sure that the business will continue to grow and offer all members and visitors the very best of value and service and a pleasurable experience second to none in the south west of England."