Folio to be rescued from administration

Folio Hotels has reportedly been rescued from administration in a deal that will see some of its properties taken over by Bespoke Hotels and the remainder by the group's existing management team.

The deals, which are expected to be tied up next week according to The Times, will preserve up to 2,000 jobs across Folio's 36 hotels.

However, the move came too late for 20 head office staff who were made redundant by administrators from MCR, the insolvency practice, just before Christmas.

Folio, which was founded in 2005, had a turnover of about £70m. The company ran into cashflow problems when the recent downturn in trading left it unable to cover rent obligations.

Bespoke, which runs 11 hotels, will take over 13 of Folio's properties, although it is taking on management contracts rather than the leases.

Folio's management, led by Nicholas Crawley, a co-founder, is in talks to acquire the Folio name and the remaining hotels, most of which are leases.

MCR confirmed that deals with Folio management and Bespoke were close to being signed but declined to comment on the terms.

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Hotel casualties won't be as high as the 1990s, say experts>>By Daniel Thomas

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