Signature Living's in-administration Shankly hotel owed bedroom investors around £1.3m

Signature Living's Shankly hotel in Liverpool fell into administration owing bedroom investors arrears of around £1.3m, according to documents filed with Companies House.

A statement of administrator's proposals for Signature Living Hotel said if the group had successfully sold its 30 James Street and Shankly hotels for £57m as it had hoped, it would have been able to meet its liabilities.

The company, which owns the freehold for Signature Living's Shankly hotel and several other properties in Liverpool, fell into administration earlier this year.

The 125-bedroom property is managed by a separate company which is unaffected by the administration and it is anticipated that the hotel will recommence trading once government restrictions are lifted.

The group initially raised money to purchase and develop the hotel by inviting investors to buy one or more rooms in the hotel. Part of this agreement included a buy back and sell option period from three to 10 years including a return on investment (ROI).

However Signature Shankly, which owned the long leasehold on the hotel, had ROI arrears with a number of bedroom investors, believed to amount to approximately £1.3m.

As a result, a bedroom investor made an application at the High Court for an administration order against Signature Shankly. On receiving notice of this, secured lender Henslow Trading exercised its right to appoint administrators to both the leasehold and freehold companies.

The 172 employees who were employed by Signature Living Hotel are in the process of being transferred under TUPE to other trading companies.

Signature Living Hotel also had an interest in the cruise liner MV Funchal, currently moored in Lisbon, that Signature Living had hoped to transform into a floating party hotel.

Administrators said the vessel was still “a work in progress” and would require “considerable investment”, and considering boat sales and cruise markets are “currently stagnant and unlikely to return in any significant capacity in 2020”, they have been instructed to dispose of it.

Administrators added that, due to the complex nature of the group including inter-company loans, it is not anticipated the administration will be concluded within the next year.

Although other Signature Living hotels and trading companies do not come under the administration, the group’s Coal Exchange hotel in Cardiff has also since separately fallen into administration, as has its George Best hotel in Belfast.

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