Leicestershire meetings and weddings venue calls in administrators
Administrators have been appointed to a hotel group which has a venue in the East Midlands after the company suffered from a cashflow crisis brought on by the pandemic.
Yasmin Bhikha and John Lowe from advisory firm FRP were appointed as joint administrators to Methodist Guild Holidays Ltd and Hothorpe Hall Ltd on 14 December 2020.
Hothorpe Hall Ltd – a wholly owned subsidiary of Methodist Guild Hotels Ltd, is an events business that operates and owns the Hothorpe Hall venue near Theddingworth, Leicestershire. The site has been temporarily closed in line with Government restrictions. All 30 staff remain furloughed. The Joint Administrators endeavour to honour existing events bookings at Hothorpe Hall, where possibly permitted by Government restrictions.
Methodist Guild Holidays, which trades as Christian Guild, is a specialist hotel operator with three sites across the UK.
Treloyhan Manor – a 19th century manor house hotel in St Ives – is operational, but temporarily closed due to the pandemic. All 21 staff remain furloughed.
Sidholme Hotel near Exeter and Willersley Castle in Matlock, a grade-II listed building in Derbyshire, were permanently closed during the first national lockdown.
The joint administrators were appointed after both companies suffered sustained cashflow difficulties since the start of the pandemic.
A small number of staff from both companies are expected to be taken off the Coronavirus Jobs Retention Scheme to assist the administrators with their duties. No redundancies were made on appointment.
Yasmin Bhikha, director at FRP and joint administrator, said: “Like much of the rest of the UK hospitality and leisure sector, Methodist Guild Holidays and Hothorpe Hall have seen their ability to operate severely restricted by the pandemic, which has led to financial difficulties and need for restructuring. The administration provides some protection as we explore options to secure a future for the hotel group. We have launched a marketing process to find investors and are having conversations with interested parties.”
