Sixth Signature Living hotel company goes into administration

Signature Living Coal Exchange Limited, the company behind the hotel at the Coal Exchange building in Cardiff, has gone into administration. This makes it the sixth company within Lawrence Kenwright’s Liverpool-based Signature Living property group to go into administration in recent weeks.

Kelly Burton and Lisa Jane Hogg from Wilson Field Ltd. were appointed as joint administrators of Signature Living Coal Exchange Limited on May 12. A spokesperson from Wilson Field said: “We will be issuing our proposals within eight weeks of appointment which will provide further details for creditors.”

The Coal Exchange hotel building had been partially opened, operating around 90 rooms, but was in need of further renovations in order to open the building fully. Cardiff Council had reportedly offered Signature Living a £2 million loan in order to aid the completion of the delayed development, but this ultimately did not transpire. The company operating the hotel in the building is still trading.

According to Signature Living Coal Exchange's most recently published accounts, made up to the year ended March 31, 2018, the company had assets worth £10.4 million and debts of £19 million. The company’s former parent Signature Living Hotel Limited is also in administration.

Signature Living Hotel Limited had been the sole shareholder of Signature Living Coal Exchange Limited until March 6 this year, before the shareholdings were transferred to a UK Accommodation Group Limited, a new company also owned by Lawrence Kenwright. UK Accommodation Group Limited then rebranded as Smazzler Limited at the end of April.

On April 15, Duff & Phelps were appointed administrators of Signature Living Hotel Limited and as administrators of its Bedford Hotel Limited, scheduled to open this year as the George Best Hotel. Then, on April 16, administrators from FRP were appointed to Signature Living Residential Limited and Signature Victoria Mill Limited.

Duff & Phelps were also appointed as the administrators of Signature Shankly Ltd, the firm which holds the leasehold interest of Liverpool’s Shankly Hotel. The company cited the pressure put on its business by the coronavirus pandemic.


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