Sharrow Bay director Andrew Davis hopes to be able to reopen the hotel “in due course”.
Despite appointing business recovery firm Portland to liquidate the company Sharrow Bay Hotel Ltd, a holding company holds the lease to the building, through which Mr Davis says he ploughed £1.2 million into supporting the business.
He says he hopes to rectify what he calls “deficiencies within the lease”, so that funding can be obtained to reopen it.
The liquidators said that customers who paid deposits for bookings which the hotel was unable to fulfil due to lockdown and its subsequent closure can await the proposed reopening or seek to recover funds via their credit card provider, under the Consumer Credit Act.
Support is being provided in this regard.
However, Mr Davis hopes to honour those deposits and outstanding vouchers, should he be successful in reopening the hotel.
Mr Davis blamed lockdown, Brexit and the major roadworks at Pooley Bridge as being the final death knell for the business, the latter two resulting in poor trading and a vast reduction in visitor numbers to the area in 2019.
This and the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown created the “perfect storm which made trading conditions unsustainable”, according to Portland.
Joint liquidator Mike Fortune said: “The impact of COVID-19 lockdown caused the enforced closure of the business in March, and the subsequent social distancing restrictions effectively made reopening unviable for the company.
“Sadly, the tourism and hospitality sector has been hit the hardest and the harsh reality is that many businesses are now facing critical financial distress due to the loss in income during the temporary closure and due to the ongoing restrictions which has caused a reduction in footfall when they have reopened.
“Many hotels are realising that this pandemic could be here for the foreseeable and are therefore making the early decision to close all together.
“The bottom line is that, despite Government intervention such as the newly announced Job Support Scheme which is set to replace the current Furlough Scheme, businesses across the UK are predicting a bleak autumn and winter.
Between April and June, gross domestic product (GDP), the broadest measure of economic prosperity, fell by 20.4 per cent which is the biggest quarterly decline since comparable records began in 1955.
“These are truly unprecedented times where in some cases business closure may be the only viable option.”
Anyone who believes they are a creditor of the Sharrow Bay Hotel — owed money by the business — can contact the liquidators by email to creditorsportbfs.co.uk
Joint liquidators Mr Fortune and Carl Faulds plan to wind up the business, subject to any objections from creditors, who have until Friday to raise their objection.
The winding up of the company will allow the company’s assets to be sold, creditors paid and any remaining assets to be distributed to partners and shareholders.
