New London — Superior Court Judge James J. Devine this afternoon approved the sale of the Lighthouse Inn to its mortgage holder and ordered the return of $100,000 to a New Haven businessman who backed out of his $1.25 million bid for the property.

The sale of the historic property at 48 Guthrie Place to Business Loan Center LLC for $1,247,365.73 came as businessman Anthony Acri withdrew his bid for the Lighthouse Inn. Acri asked for the return of his $100,000 deposit after at least two break-ins at the inn shortly after the auction led to significant damage and the loss of personal property, Judge Devine said.

“Hopefully, we’ll get this property back on the market again,” Devine said, adding that he hopes someone returns the inn “back to its former glory.”

Acri had been the only other bidder besides the mortgage holder during an auction last spring on the Lighthouse Inn. With Acri deciding to withdraw, Devine accepted the Business Loan Center’s second highest bid as the winning sales price.

New London attorney Michael Sheehan, representing the mortgage company, would not comment after the 10-minute hearing about what the Business Loan Center would do with the property. But both Devine and New London attorney Narcy Z. Dubicki, committee of sale for the Lighthouse Inn, indicated the company most likely would put the property back up for sale.

“Now they’ve got to peddle it,” Dubicki said.