Thu, 21 Apr 2011 | ADMINISTRATION
The owner of several prestigious British hotels, von Essen Hotels, has entered administration having buckled under the weight of its £250 million debt mountain.
Administrators at Ernest & Young have been mandated with the task of selling the properties, which include Ston Easton Park, the Royal Crescent in Bath, a Palladian mansion in Somerset and the 900-year old Amberley Castle in West Sussex.
Some of the properties for sale are steeped in historical scandal. Cliveden, the country house in Berkshire, was made famous by the Profumo affair; while Ickworth Hotel was where the 7th Marquess of Bristol frittered away the family coffers on drink and drugs.
The luxurious hotel properties are still trading, as it is only the holding company that has entered administration. Joint administrator Angela Swarbrick said: "It is business as normal for the hotels and customers of von Essen Hotels can continue to enjoy their stay."
The group's banks - Barclays and Lloyds Banking Group - brought in the administrators when it failed to honour its interest repayment commitments on £250 million of loans.
It is believed that the group had also breached its covenant controlling the minimum level of underlying earnings after being hit by tough trading conditions in the economic downturn. The chairman Andrew Davis had tried to secure an outside investor to reduce its debts and support its expansion plans.
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