The Feathers Inn hotel closes following legionnaires outbreak

The Feathers Hotel in Ludlow has closed following a legionnaires outbreak in 2017 which caused the death of of 69-year-old Elaine Brown, who contracted the disease at the property.

The hotel, which employed 30 people, recently entered administration following trading difficulties as a result of the outbreak, but remained open while “options for its future were assessed”.

Raj Mittal and Steve Stokes, partners at specialist business advisory firm FRP Advisory LLP, were appointed as joint administrators. Mittal said: “Unfortunately, due to ongoing trading difficulties it has not been possible for the Feathers hotel in Ludlow to continue operating. We are now focused on concluding a sale of the hotel on behalf of creditors.”

Brown, from Merseyside, died at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital in August 2017 after suffering a stroke as a result of the disease, which emerged just days after she stayed at the hotel with her husband Graham. A second guest had also contracted the disease but had made a full recovery.

Laboratory tests from the hotel showed links between the legionella bacteria found in the water samples and the two guests who stayed there.

The hotel closed temporarily after the incident, taking advice from Public Health England (PHE) in the West Midlands and Shropshire Council, but reopened in November 2017 after test results for disease came back clear.

Mittal added: “To that end we are working closely with property agents Lambert Smith Hampton and Christie & Co to find a buyer for the hotel. We are providing every support to all affected staff and very much hope that a sale can be secured to allow this iconic building to continue to operate as a hotel.”