The four-star Mour Hotel in Nottinghamshire boasts a ‘stylish design and excellent location in the heart of the UK’ but has entered administration following a dispute with its bank
An award-winning UK hotel has entered administration – and its owner claims the business was “pushed” into the process by its lender following a dispute over finances.
The 92-room Mour Hotel, near the M1 in Nottinghamshire, appointed administrators on March 18. Joint administrators Bob Maxwell and Julian Pitts from restructuring firm BGT Advisory said the four-star venue is continuing to trade while a buyer is sought. None of the hotel’s 60 staff have been made redundant, and customers have been told all existing bookings and events will go ahead as planned.
The boutique venue – which includes a 150-capacity events space, meeting rooms, a restaurant and a gym – was originally the first in the Dakota chain of hotels founded by the former F1 driver David Coulthard, and was designed by interior specialist Amanda Rosa.
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Bob Maxwell, partner at restructuring firm BTG, said the business has suffered from “lower occupancy rates at weekends, and underutilisation of its excellent event facilities”. Administrators believe the hotel remains a viable operation and expect interest from potential buyers.
Owner Russell Allen, of Seymour Capital, said the business was forced into administration by lender Virgin Money after failing to agree on financial restructuring. He said: “Unfortunately my bank, Virgin Money, that I’ve been with for 18 years, they told me they were going to support me and then they just pulled the plug.
Mr Allen, who borrowed £6million to buy the hotel in 2020, insisted the business was not insolvent and could pay its bills, but had struggled to repay the loan capital in recent years. Her claimed the bank wanted him to enter an agreement that would hand it greater control of the business – something he refused.
“I said ‘hang on a minute’. I don’t need any more money,” he added. “We were not distressed or insolvent. We could pay all of our bills, we paid everything. We just couldn’t afford to pay back the capital [of the loan] in the last three or four years.”
He said trading had recently improved, with bookings up and local developments expected to boost demand further. He added that he hoped to sell the hotel for around £6.75million – enough to cover what was owed.
“It’s a horrible thing to do and it was absolutely not necessary,” he said, explaining that his main concern was for the future of his staff members.
A spokesperson for Virgin Money said it tries to support businesses in difficulty but could not continue backing the hotel in this case, reports Nottinghamshire Live.
“While we are not able to go into detail on specific cases, we will always try and support a business in difficulties,” a spokesperson said. “However, on this occasion it has not been possible and administrators have been appointed.”
Joint administrator Mr Maxwell, who is now jointly running the hotel, said the business was a promising prospect for a new owner who could secure the support of Virgin Money.
“With the support of the lender, the business is perfectly viable, and we are confident that it will be a high-performing asset for a new owner with the required experience to optimise this type of venue,” he said. “We intend to operate the hotel with the help of all the existing dedicated and hard-working staff until a trade buyer is secured.
“We anticipate a great deal of interest in the property and business due to its high quality, and the recent closure of a competing venue locally that has significantly boosted forward bookings. No redundancies are being made, in fact it is possible that we may need to hire more staff as we head into the busier spring and summer seasons.”
