By Scott Wright
THE economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic has been cited as the company that operated a 100-bedroom Hilton hotel in central Aberdeen went into liquidation, resulting in 34 redundancies.
The St Andrew Hotel Street Hotel Company Limited, which ran the Hilton Garden Inn, had experienced challenging trading conditions in the wake of the downturn in the oil and gas industry, which began in 2014, joint liquidators Blair Nimmo and Geoff Jacobs of KPMG said. It experienced funding shortfalls at various times amid weaker economic activity in Aberdeen and an over-supply of hotel accommodation.
However, the lockdown imposed in March to halt the spread of Covid-19 looks to have been the final straw. The liquidators said the hotel’s closure had a significant impact on the company’s cash position. Despite attempts by directors to secure new funding, and to market the leasehold, the company, which did not reopen the hotel after lockdown was eased in July, was placed into liquidation.
Thirty-four employees who had been on furlough have been made redundant as the hotel was not able to reopen and trade.
Mr Nimmo said: “Unfortunately, following a prolonged period of challenging trading, lockdown was too big a challenge for the hotel in a local market already adversely impacted by over-supply. The current difficulties within the hospitality sector are well documented and we have been working with several businesses recently with similar challenges.
“Regrettably, some insolvencies in this sector are inevitable, and we are working with all affected employees and the relevant government agencies to ensure a full range of support is available for all impacted employees.”
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