UK: The Shankly Hotel, a 59-key aparthotel on Liverpool’s Victoria Street, has been placed in administration.
The property is operated by developer Lawrence Kenwright’s Signature Living Group, which cited pressures from the Covid-19 pandemic as the reason for the property being placed in to administration. The aparthotel, which was put on the market last year, is themed around former Liverpool FC manager Bill Shankly.
The property opened in 2015, and features a bar and restaurant, two event suites, two rooftop terraces and an underground car park. It is co-owned by Signature Living founders Lawrence and Katie Kenwright and Christopher William Shankly Carline, Bill Shankly’s grandson.
Matthew Ingram and Michael Lennon at Duff & Phelps have been appointed joint administrators of the property’s management company, Signature Shankly. They said in a statement that they have been working with the directors to understand the “future trading outlook of the hotel”.
The property is currently closed but is expected to open for business once restrictions are lifted.
Lennon said: “The hospitality industry as a whole has seen increased pressures in recent years and has now been instantly hit incredibly hard by the Covid-19 pandemic. As a result, the Shankly is temporarily closed, although management’s expectation is that once the lockdown is lifted trading will continue as normal.”
Duff & Phelps was unable to say whether the Shankly building is still being marketed for sale. The administrators said the wider Signature Living Group remains unaffected.
A statement from Signature Shankly’s parent company, Signature Living said: “Due to Covid-19 and government guidelines the Shankly Hotel ceased trading with immediate effect. We have been left with no option but to place the property subsidiary of the hotel into administration. The operational trading company for the Shankly Hotel remains unaffected as does the wider Signature Living group. We are all facing unprecedented times and the impact of this pandemic on our business has forced us to make some immediate and difficult decisions. The operating company remains completely unaffected. It will be business as usual for the Shankly Hotel as we are fully committed to our staff, suppliers, future events and guests. We look forward to opening our doors as soon as it’s safe to do so.”</p
