150 jobs lost as Real Hotel Group closes four hotels

The administrator of the Real Hotel Group (RHG) has closed four of its hotels, leading to the loss of 150 jobs.

BDO Stoy Hayward, appointed as administrator on Wednesday, has closed the Comfort Inn in Thetford, Norfolk; the Quality hotel in Newcastle upon Tyne; the Stop Inn Floatel in Northwich, Cheshire, and the Stop Inn in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire.

The hotel company went into administration a week after shares in the parent company were suspended amid uncertainty over its financial position.

Its 36 remaining UK hotels - which include own brand Purple hotels and Stop Inns, as well as Quality and Clarion hotels under licence from Choice Hotels International - are continuing to trade while the group is in administration.

Shay Bannon, business restructuring partner at BDO Stoy Hayward, said: "It is regrettable that we have had to close a small number of hotels but we continue to trade a significant number of hotels with the support of stakeholders and will be actively marketing the group for sale."

RHG chief executive Michael Prager told Caterersearch that the group was still working with a couple of parties who are interested in buying certain parts of the business.

He admitted that the group had "never really recovered" since investor Dawnay Day sold its 28% share last July, and that the ongoing difficulties at the Royal Bank of Scotland has left it "far shorter of cash than we wanted to be".

"We've always had good bank relations and we have proposed three different funding solutions, but for some reason I genuinely don't understand they have not been accepted," he added.

"My heart goes out to the 2,000 people whose jobs are at risk. BDO is handling it and the sooner it gets done the better for everyone."

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By Gemma Sharkey

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