The Scotsman Hotel “continuing to trade” despite HMRC liquidation

06-Jul-2016 - Last updated on 07-Jul-2016 at 13:56 GMT

Photo: The Scotsman Hotel

The Scotsman Hotel will continue to trade throughout its liquidation process and is seeking a long-term solution to its administration, its liquidator has said.

In May this year, Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (HMRC) filed for a winding up order of the five-star, 68-bedroom Edinburgh hotel, and accountancy and business services firm French Duncan was appointed liquidator by Edinburgh Sheriff Court.

However, the hotel has continued to trade, with all 150-plus of its staff remaining in their posts for the foreseeable future.

The property is owned by JJW Hotels and Resorts, part of MBI International, who bought it in 2006 for over £60m. Under MBI International, the Scotsman Hotel Group went into administration in 2012, but overall owner, the Saudi businessman Sheikh Mohamed Bin Issa Al Jaber, was able to resolve this in 2014.

In her most recent statement on the current issue, Eileen Blackburn, partner and head of business recovery and insolvency at French Duncan who is working as interim liquidator on the case, told BigHospitality: "The Scotsman Hotel is continuing to trade and there are no plans for that to stop. French Duncan is working with the hotel’s senior management team to ensure that trading continues and to find a long term sustainable solution."

The news comes just over a year after staff were said to be facing redundancies, and local newspaper the Edinburgh Evening News reported in March 2015 that staff had been warned in a letter that their wages risked being paid late.

The Scotsman Hotel could not be reached for a comment at the time of writing.