ICSM Business – Hospitality Insolvency News: a very sad end to a hotel and restaurant as contractors take away the tables and chairs on St Valentine’s when it should have been busy
By Harry Mottram: The ICSM stories of collapsing businesses that I report on are often far away or even abroad, but this was right on my doorstep. Yesterday (14th February, 2024) I was putting up a poster for an amateur dramatic play at the town hall in my home town of Axbridge when I noticed workers loading furniture from the Oak House Hotel into vans.
The hotel had been shuttered for some weeks with speculation in the town about what the situation was, but it all came to a head when the owners of the hotel (not the leaseholders who run the hospitality business) stated on social media that the hotel had closed, and the hospitality business was being liquidated.
The Oakhouse Hotel Limited incorporated in 2007 has ceased trading leaving numerous couples who had bookings there for wedding receptions in the lurch and out of pocket having lost their £500 deposits. Suppliers and potentially others such as lenders will also be counting the cost of the collapse as they await any news from the liquidators – although having looked at the most recent accounts published in Companies House it would suggest there’s little chance of anyone getting their money back in full or at all.
The contractors would not confirm where the van loads of tables, chairs and beds were going other than to say they had been contracted to take them away to an undisclosed site. It was the one day of the year – St Valentine’s Day – when you would expect the restaurant to be packed with romantic couples – not workmen carrying out the tables.
In 2021 when the hotel’s last full accounts were published, they showed a turnover of more than a third of a million pounds but a loss of just under £2,000 that year but with liabilities tens of thousands of pounds. This was the time of Covid which hit the hospitality industry hard – and it can be argued that the long-term effects of the way the public spend for their nights out, weekends away etc has changed habits – exacerbated by the Cost-of-Living Crisis. Running any business is tough when there is a downturn and the hospitality industry is more susceptible to household budgets being trimmed than most.
The fall-out had begun weeks ago when I was contacted by unhappy couples trying to find out what was going on at the hotel when their booking enquiries were not being answered. I could only refer them to the owners Luke and Melanie Sturman who are listed as the officers at Companies House and whose postal addresses are in Dorset.
With the hotel and restaurant closed for some time the rumours grew that something was amiss – and those rumours proved to be true as workers carried out the furniture in an undignified end to the business this week. The BBC and ITV News both ran stories of the hapless couples left high and dry and without a wedding venue after the collapse of the company. Scott Norton-Ashley and his fiancee Jolie Stokes spoke of their disappointment as they had planned everything around the hotel – which is a wonderful spot for a wedding with a church close by, a Square to spill out into – especially on a sunny day – and of course the historic setting in Axbridge.
Anton Booth and his fiancee Maddie told the BBC that there had been “a lot of confusion and panic” when a few weeks ago, the couple received an email from the venue’s in-house wedding planner, Amanda-Louise Knight, informing them that she no longer worked with them. She blamed the cost-of-living crisis that meant some wedding venues were struggling. This won’t be a comfort for the couples planning on using the hotel for their receptions as some like Nicole Boncquet and her fiancé Connor Creed had booked the hotel for an April wedding and now appear to have lost their £500 deposit.
Interestingly Luke Sturman noted in the accounts in 2021 that the business had focused on the hotel, bar and restaurant – but had decided to concentrate on weddings due to the profit margins – and couples will be aware that an average wedding is more than £20,000 while the reception can easily run up a bill for up to half of that depending on the number of guests.
Writing in the Axbridge Community FaceBook the owner Neil Jenkins reported: “I confirm the tenant company of the Oak House Hotel has gone into liquidation. For those who booked a wedding, room or event, my understanding is you will be contacted soon by the liquidator of the company with further information.” He went on to confirm that he was in talks with potential new tenants, and that he hoped the hotel and restaurant would reopen soon.
The Grade II listed building and hotel has had a number of transformations over the years – originally constructed as two houses and in the early 20th century it was for a time a petrol station. It dates back to (according to most sources) to the 11th century – but only in parts such as a fireplace and the well – one of the hotel’s most interesting features. However, the property was rebuilt and much of the building dates from the 17th and 18th centuries with later modernisations.
Every week hotels go bust and I list as many as I can for ICSM’s regular newsletters and stories on the hospitality sector with around 700 going to the wall each year. It’s a very tough business at times due to the harsh winds of the economy at times – but it is even harsher for the staff who lose their jobs and for the suppliers who are left with unpaid invoices. ICSM’s Ian Carrotte said anyone supplying hotels with products or services are wise to credit check them first and to put them on stop as soon as they fail to pay on time.
Below are some recent casualties in the hospitality sector:
HOSPITALITY, HOTELS, TRAVEL AND HOLIDAYS
ADMINISTRATORS APPOINTED
GRASSHOPPER HOTELS (GLASGOW) LIMITED 07026603
HUNTON PARK LTD 10527247
LUNA HOTELS LIMITED 11014036
PURE CRAFT BARS LIMITED 08022243
COMPULSORY LIQUIDATOR APPOINTED
PONTYPRIDD CARE HOME LTD 07941729
CREDITORS’ VOLUNTARY LIQUIDATION DEEMED IN CONSENT MEETINGS
ASRAR LTD 07380210
BIRCH HOSPITALITY LIMITED 11725651
BIRCH HOTEL GROUP LIMITED 11720609
BIRCH HOTELS LIMITED 11725701
BRADLEYS COFFEE SHOP LIMITED 09674141
BROADLEYS BISTRO & WINE BAR LIMITED 10920102
COLLIERS WOOD SPICE LTD 10407307
ELEGANT ADDRESS SOUTH OF FRANCE LIMITED 05931566
INDEPENDENT SPANISH RESTAURANT COMPANY (WEST) LIMITED 12362311
INSPIRATION TOURISM & CONSULTANCY LTD 11429565
THE CENTRE FOR JEWISH LIFE LTD 06239129
THE PORTLAND HOTEL ASHINGTON LTD 14056923
THE ROWLEY BAR AND GRILL LIMITED 08874396
CVL LIQUIDATORS APPOINTED
ARTISAN HOTELS LIMITED 09920581
BEULENE GROUP LIMITED 11988492
BIRCH HOSPITALITY LIMITED 11725651
BIRCH HOTEL GROUP LIMITED 11720609
BLACKS LIMITED 02721400
BOWENS COACH HOLIDAYS LIMITED 08292588
CANDYPANTS EVENTS LIMITED 07174759
CEDAR ST CAPITAL 2 LIMITED 12213138
CARLTON MANOR COUNTRY PARK LIMITED 10649184
CARDWELL LEISURE LTD 12174263
CHURCH MEADOW YORKSHIRE LTD 11400943
CUPOLA COUNTRY PARK LIMITED 09831948
DA MERCI LTD 07869470
DALES VIEW PARK LTD 01682771
DOLPHIN RIVER COUNTRY PARK LIMITED 11796042
ELITE PANTOMIMES LIMITED 12378286
FALCON PARK LIMITED 11156793
FOREST COUNTRY PARK LIMITED 09831926
GRINDON VILLAGE CLUB LIMITED 11632439
HANISON HOSPITALITY LTD 12455677
HARVEY'S NURSERIES PARK HOME ESTATE LIMITED 08646177
HASGUARD CROSS COUNTRY PARK LTD 11393325
HELLWELL BAY COUNTRY PARK LIMITED 11795783
HH COUNTRY PARK LIMITED 10649156
HEYFORDIAN TRAVEL LIMITED 01187887
HV PARKS LIMITED 12842446
INSPIRATION TOURISM & CONSULTANCY LTD 11429565
MEDINA COUNTRY PARK LIMITED 09634465
NEW WALK ORCHARD PARK LIMITED 10066396
NORFOLK CARAVAN PARK LTD 11164405
OUTHILL COUNTRY PARK LIMITED 11899008
RAPHAEL HOSPITALITY LTD 11360898
RIVERDALE COUNTRY PARK LIMITED 09831988
SUN-VALLEY PARK CORNWALL LTD 11164182
SUN VALLEY COUNTRY PARK LIMITED 11796044
THE GRANGE PARK SUFFOLK LIMITED 07561010
THE OSTRICH INN (CASTLE ACRE) LIMITED 07481160
TIME GB (EA) LIMITED 09725729
TIME GB (WIDEMOUTH) LIMITED 13436252
TIME GB (GRANGE) LIMITED 13433270
TIME GB (TB) LTD 11877193
TIME GB (DEVON) LIMITED 12000885
TIME GB HOLDINGS LIMITED 11046171
TOLLERTON COUNTRY PARK LIMITED 09831909
VULTURE LEISURE LIMITED 10592657
WALWORTH CASTLE COUNTRY PARK LIMITED 11295223
WILLOWS PARK GLOUCESTER LTD 11164173
MEMBERS VOLUNTARY LIQUIDATIONS
BUNN LEISURE LIMITED 00892121
DESTINATION EUROPE LIMITED 10698265
HOME AND TRAVEL LIMITED 07270270
STUDLANDS ESTATES LTD 10467012
TRAVEL SCOT WORLD LIMITED 01208976
PETITION DISMISSED
CHILTERN HOTEL LTD 08242343
PETITIONS TO WIND UP
900 DEGREES LTD 09728708
ALBANY LIONS HOTEL LIMITED 09895996
PARADIGM GLOBAL EVENTS LTD 08201777
PERFORMANCE SOUND & LIGHT LTD. 08923265
RIVERSIDE TENPIN BOWLING LIMITED 07933840
TRAVEL PRODUCER LIMITED 08295271
WAVES HOTELS GROUP LIMITED 13517914
SECRETARY OF STATE LIQUIDATION APPOINTMENT
ELEGANT PARK HOMES LTD 13241445
OLD2 LTD 13536965
OLD3 LTD 11169385
WESTGARTH WORKING MEN'S SOCIAL CLUB
WINDING UP ORDERS
A K TRAVEL WORLDWIDE LIMITED 05370784
BOARDMAN PUBS LTD 12264143
THE GEORGE & DRAGON (DRAGONS GREEN) LIMITED 08008892
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ICSM, The Exchange, Express Park, Bristol Road, Bridgwater, Somerset TA6 4RR. Tel: 0844 854 1850. www.icsmcredit.com. Ian.carrotte@icsmcredit.com
