Flagship city centre hotel put into administration

Shankly Hotel, Liverpool

The Shankly Hotel in Liverpool has gone into administration.

Owned by hotels and property developer Signature Living the flagship hotel was converted from a former Liverpool City Council office block.

Duff & Phelps have been appointed as administrators of the Signature Shankly Ltd, which is the firm holding the leasehold interest of the site.

In September last year Signature Living brought The Shankly, and its 30 James Street hotel in Liverpool city centre to the market.

The group said it would accept offers over £35m and £16m, respectively.

However, since the coronavirus outbreak, the Shankly Hotel has closed its doors to the public.

Matthew Ingram and Michael Lennon from Duff & Phelphs who are the joint administrators, said the rest of the Signature Living group, run by Lawrence Kenwright, is unaffected.

They said they expect the hotel to open again for business when lockdown is lifted.

Mr Lennon said: “The hospitality industry as a whole has seen increased pressures in recent years and has now been instantly hit incredibly hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“As a result, the Shankly is temporarily closed. Management’s expectation is that once the lockdown is lifted trading will continue as normal.”

It is understood that all weddings, events and accommodation bookings will be honoured, and the hotel is still accepting new enquiries.

A statement from Signature Shankly’s parent company, Signature Living said: “Due to Covid-19 and government guidelines the Shankly Hotel ceased trading with immediate effect.

“We have been left with no option but to place the property subsidiary of the hotel into administration. The operational trading company for the Shankly Hotel remains unaffected as does the wider Signature Living group.

“We are all facing unprecedented times and the impact of this pandemic on our business has forced us to make some immediate and difficult decisions.

“The operating company remains completely unaffected. It will be business as usual for the Shankly Hotel as we are fully committed to our staff, suppliers, future events and guests. We look forward to opening our doors as soon as it’s safe to do so.”

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