Up to 85 staff face redundancy at Kingsway Hall hotel

All 85 members of staff at the Kingsway Hall hotel could be made redundant when the hotel closes to undergo a complete refurbishment.

The 170-bedroom, four-star hotel in London's Covent Garden will close at the end of December for up to a year.

The Caterer has seen communication with staff warning of "significant redundancies", however emphasises that "no final decisions have been made" and none will be made until staff representatives have been engaged with through a consultation process. It adds alternative employment elsewhere within the company will be offered "where possible".

A spokesperson for the hotel confirmed it will be closing at the end of December for the planned refurbishment, however could not confirm redundancies or provide information on the expected spend for the refurbishment.

Shiva Hotels acquired the property from Cola Holdings in 2014 for a reported £96m, and an upgrade has been on the cards for some time. Shiva owns 10 hotels, mostly in London, including the Hilton Heathrow Terminal 5. Six are unbranded hotels under development, including sites on Poland Street in Soho, Millennium Bridge House, Vandon House Buckingham Gate, Lincoln Plaza at Canary Wharf and Morley House Holborn Viaduct.

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