The Liverpool Echo broke the news on Friday afternoon that The Shankly Hotel, situated in Victoria Street in central Liverpool, part of the Signature Living Group had, “Gone into Administration”.
But, as is often the case with stories in the press relating to corporate insolvency, things are not as they seem.
A closer read of the article reveals that it is not the company that operates the hotel that has gone into administration but Signature Shankly Limited, the company which owns the leasehold to the property.
While the hotel remains closed because of the COVID-19 lockdown the administrators, two partners in the national firm Duff & Phelps, confirmed that it would re-open when the lockdown is over.
The piece in the Echo refers to the operating company of the hotel being in discussions already with the administrators and adds that all bookings for the post-lockdown period will be honoured.
The piece also adds that the “wider Signature Living Group remains unaffected.
It is not unusual for businesses to be structured in a complex way such as this with one company owning the property interest, another operating and an overarching holding company owning the controlling interest. But it does make for confusion and misleading headlines.
