220 jobs go as UK hotel chain closes

A private hotel and pub business which went into administration earlier this month is closing five hotels and 15 managed pubs with the loss of 220 jobs around the UK, it was announced today.

Administrators from Ernst & Young were appointed two weeks ago to oversee the running of the London and Edinburgh Swallow Group, which is the parent company of Swallow Hotels, while it looked for buyers for its pubs and hotels.

Two days after the firm collapsed, administrators sold 240 pubs and hotels to investment vehicle Flodrive group, securing the jobs of 2,500 employees.

However, Angela Swarbuck, joint administrator, said today that buyers could not be found for the 20 sites to be closed.

She said: “It is unfortunate that despite negotiations with interested parties, it has not been possible to conclude a sale of these hotels and pubs to secure their long-term future.”

Pubs to close include the Ashes in Leeds, the Kings Inn in Ongar, Essex, and the Magic Box in Bristol.

The Swan Hotel in Gillingham, Beccles, Suffolk, and the Golden Lion at Hunstanton, Norfolk, are among the hotels to shut.

Buyers are still being sought for the group’s remaining estate of around 400 pubs and hotels.

Administrators said the group had struggled for some time in the face of increasing heavy losses.

The London and Edinburgh Swallow Group was formed in 1996 by present executive chairman Alan Bowes. At the time the group went into administration it operated 671 sites in across the UK with approximately 7,300 employees.

:: Hotels closed

Golden Lion, Hunstanton, Norfolk

Harrow on the Hill, Lenham, Maidstone, Kent

Horse and Groom, Rollesby, Norfolk

Panmure Hotel, Monifieth, Angus, Scotland

Swan Hotel, Gillingham, Beccles, Suffolk

:: Pubs closed

Ashes, Leeds

Hop Inn, Paddock Wood, Kent

Kings Inn, Ongar, Essex

Magic Box, Stokescroft, Bristol

Mucky Mulligans, Perth, Scotland

Northumberland, Reading, Berkshire

Pheasant Hotel, Salisbury, Wiltshire