Company which holds the leasehold of Signature Living’s flagship Shankly Hotel in Liverpool has collapsed into administration. Tony McDonough reports

Hotel operator and developer Signature Living is insisting the flagship Shankly Hotel in Liverpool will contunie trading despite the company that owns the building’s lease collapsing into administration.

Signature Shankly Ltd, which holds the leasehold of the former council buildings in Victoria Street, is now in administration but Signature Group has told the Liverpool Echo that it is unaffected by the move, as is the operational trading company that runs the hotel.

The Shankly Hotel closed its doors in March following the coronavirus lockdown introduced by the Government and Signature insists that when the restrictions are lifted, the hotel will reopen with all bookings and functions to be honoured.

Duff & Phelps have been appointed as administrators of the Signature Shankly Ltd. They also say they expect the hotel to open again for business when the COVID-19 lockdown is lifted.

Last year Signature put both the Shankly and its 30 James Street Hotel up for sale with price tags of £35m and £16m respectively. Signature owns and operates a number of other hotels and bars in the city. Latest year it opened the Dixie Dean Hotel opposite the Shankly in Victoria Street.

Matthew Ingram and Michael Lennon from Duff & Phelphs are the joint administrators for the collapsed business. Mr Lennon told the Echo: “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. Management’s expectation is that once the lockdown is lifted trading will continue as normal.”

Its its statement, 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.”