The Dixie Dean Hotel in Liverpool has been handed a fresh price tag of £2.5m almost a year after first being put up for sale.
The hotel, which is themed after the Everton FC legend, collapsed into administration in August 2022. Signature Eden, the Signature Living group company that was originally behind the hotel, owed more than £15.5m to its creditors when it called administrators in.
The hotel first opened in 2019 and has remained trading since Kroll was appointed as administrator. The Victoria Street property, which is a grade II-listed building and has 45 bedrooms, was first put up for sale in November 2022.
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While property agency CBRE has recently started remarketing the hotel with an asking price of £2.5m, a new document has revealed the venue has been operating at a loss because of 'legacy ransom payments', rail strikes and the cost-of-living crisis, administrators have said. The original asking price for the hotel was never disclosed.
In a new document filed with Companies House, Kroll has set out how the hotel has been performing in recent months. It said: "Trading performance has been poor due to a number of factors including rail strikes, resulting in cancellations; and the cost-of-living crisis where many customers are spending less.
"In addition, there has been a number of exceptional costs and legacy ransom payments from UKAOL [UK Accommodation Ops Limited] that have needed to be met in order to stabilise trading operations."
UKAOL operated the hotel when Kroll was appointed as administrators but was removed in September 2022.
Legacy ransom payment refers to the practice of charging additional payments, or requiring early payment of outstanding debts, as a condition of ongoing supply. Kroll added: "As a result, the business has traded at a loss during the reporting period.
"The trading account… does not show the full extent of losses as a result of the secured creditor providing financial support to the company through £149,000 advanced in the reporting period and £276,000 advanced in the previous reporting period.
"Funds advanced by the secured creditor have enabled continuity of trade whilst a buyer for the company's business and assets is pursued."
According to a document filed with Companies House for UKAOL, the firm owed almost £1.3m when it entered liquidation.
Signature Living and UKAOL's liquidator, KBL Advisory, were contacted for comment by the Liverpool ECHO.
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