Administrators close Birch Selsdon
Administrators have closed Birch’s Selsdon hotel, home to Westcott's Elodie and Vervain restaurants, a week after the group’s Chestnut hotel in Hertfordshire was also forced to shut its doors.
A statement on the Birch Selsdon website confirms that Milan Vuceljic and Andrew Pear of Moorfields Advisory have taken the decision to close the hotel with immediate effect having been appointed joint administrators on 17 November.
The statement reads: “The affairs, business and property of the company are being managed by the joint administrators. The joint administrators and their staff act as agents of the company and without personal liability.
“We regret to inform you that the joint administrators have taken the difficult decision to close the hotel with immediate effect.
“We appreciate this is disappointing news and apologise for the obvious distress and disruption to our members, guests, suppliers and the employees.”
Birch Selsdon was confirmed to have fallen into administration alongside Birch Chestnut last week, but initially remained open.
The hotel only launched in the spring of this year, with Westcott overseeing its culinary direction.
Its closure comes little more than a month after The Observer's Jay Rayner reviewed Vervain, which he described as serving 'a seriously good menu in a grand hotel that needs a bit of work'.
Birch has previously been described as a cross between a hotel and a members club and was the brainchild of Chris Penn, former managing director at The Ace Hotel in London, and entrepreneur Chris King.
The pair left the business earlier this year and a new management team led by managing director Ayo Akinsete was put in place.
