Half of the head office staff at Folio Hotels, the hotel company that collapsed into administration earlier this month, are believed to have been made redundant, Caterersearch has learnt.

Administrators MCR are believed to have laid off half of the staff at Folio Hotels’ head-office in Swindon, Wiltshire, on Friday (12 December).

Folio collapsed into administration after a sharp decline in trading.

The company, which has 36 hotels throughout the UK and a turnover of about £70m, blamed high rents and an expensive refurbishment programme for its cash flow problems.

Folio had been in discussions with its landlords over a rent holiday to allow it to continue trading.

However, a decision by the owner of nine hotels, the Landesberg and Rosenberg families, who also own Admiral Taverns, to pull out of negotiations prompted the move to appoint MCR.

The two families are currently in discussions with Bespoke Hotels to take over the management of the nine hotels. An announcement is expected later this week.

Folio was set up in 2004, by Nicholas Crawley, the former managing director of Corus Hotels, and Martyn Levitt, the former finance director of Firmdale Hotels.

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By Kerstin Kühn

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