Three former Shepherd Cox Group hotels brought to market

Property consultancy and hotel sector specialists Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH) has been appointed by joint administrators to sell three hotel assets formerly owned and operated by the Shepherd Cox Group.

Harrisons Business Recovery and Insolvency instructed LSH to sell the New Hobbit Country Inn, Sowerby Bridge near Halifax, Hallgarth The Manor Hotel near Durham and the Allerton Court Hotel in Northallerton.

Martin Davis, director of hotels and leisure at LSH, said: “All three of these hotels have been trading under the Best Western brand and are extremely well-located. Each of the hotels are well-established and draw trade from all over the UK in addition to regular, local custom.

“As such, we anticipate they will generate strong interest from a wide range of purchasers, including investors and owner-operators.”

In June, Crowell and Moring’s London Restructuring team, led by partners Paul Muscutt and Cathryn Williams, placed six companies within the Shepherd Cox Hotels Group into administration.

Each of the Shepherd Cox companies were a ‘Special Purpose Vehicle’ (SPV) that owned a hotel and sold hotel rooms to investors with the “promise of a guaranteed fixed return”.

The SPVs were unable to meet these guaranteed payments and were held by the High Court to all be insolvent. The applications to the Insolvency and Companies Court were made on behalf of Crowell and Moring’s client investors, who are “all owed rental arrears and remain concerned about the investment scheme”.

Muscutt said at the time: “The ruling of the Insolvency and Companies Court is the right result for the investors who can now begin to get answers in relation to the management and running of their investments.

“In the next phase, our team will be advising the administrators in investigating the affairs of the companies and the directors and realizing assets to maximize returns to the creditors.”