For Release 11am August 25th 2020
Having run through the negative process of Brexit – as funding became almost impossible for many developers with Parliament battling the Government in ways not seen since the Cromwell era – nobody expected this to be followed by a global pandemic and subsequent lockdown. As we all know, Covid 19 brought the hospitality and tourism industries to their knees and forced some parts of our own businesses into administration.
The statement we issued on July 3rd confirmed that we would re-open after the easing of the lockdown on July 4th in line with all Government guidelines on social distancing and health and safety generally. We stated then that our aim was to successfully trade through these challenges and eventually return all the assets to their former values. I’m pleased to announce that the first of these twin goals has been achieved as we have exceeded all expectations hitting 90% occupancy levels, higher than any other city centre hotel.
As a result of this we began to explore options to refinance, turning some investor debt into longer term loans. This was an almost impossible task with the business terrain that lay before us, however, following a series of stakeholder meetings, we believe we have secured a deal which protects all areas of the business and its investors.
We have decided to align ourselves with a group of our investors by creating two new companies which will house a range of assets along with our trading businesses. These new companies will also be exploring funding options to buy back those assets which have been placed into administration.
Each company will have its own chairperson, appointed by investors, while Lawrence Kenwright will take up the CEO role.
Our aim is to trade all assets until normal profitability returns – and with it normal valuations – ensuring all investors realise a positive outcome from their investment, as we carry on with our expansion.
We have continued our development work throughout the pandemic and within the next 6 months we plan to open 4 more hotels with the introduction of 500 new jobs. Further information will follow in due course on each development.
We are a bucketlist hotelier which stands apart from all other standard room and bed operators.
We believe now more than ever the modern-day hotel must deliver so much more than just a bed. We believe that our future is now stronger than ever, alongside the new hotels, our brands will have a global spotlight shone on them with the broadcast of the 4 part BBC1 primetime series which focusses on what makes the Shankly Hotel so unique.
Put simply, this new structure will see us continue to grow, continue to deliver wonderfully unique experiences for its customers, continue to create new jobs and deliver new hotels and developments.
If you have any questions please email your enquiry to:
buyback@shanklyhotel.com
loannotes@signatureliving.co.uk
ENDS
