Virgin Hotel Glasgow which opened in August has closed suddenly after telling staff at midday today (19 December) that the premises were closing with immediate effect. Around 100 staff are impacted.
James Bermingham, CEO of Virgin Hotels said in a statement “Lloyds Developments Limited – the owner of Virgin Hotels Glasgow, which Virgin Hotels has a management contract with – has financial problems and on 1 December its lenders put it into administration. As a result, the directors of V Hotel Glasgow Ltd, the employer and operating company in respect of the hotel, are being advised by FRP Advisory LLP as they place that company into liquidation. These financial issues mean that the hotel cannot continue operating and now has to close.
“Virgin Group tried to find solutions, including offering to purchase the hotel, to keep the hotel open, keep the team in employment and ensure the completion of the development of the hotel, creating something the City of Glasgow could be proud of. Unfortunately, the lenders have not accepted Virgin’s offers and intend to pursue a sales process with the hotel closed. Virgin Hotels is very disappointed by this decision after the hard work everyone has put into the hotel and because of the impact it will have on the team that works there.
“Virgin Hotels’ heartfelt thanks and gratitude are to those employees, suppliers and guests who have been integral to the hotel’s launch in the City of Glasgow.
“The Virgin Hotels team continues to have great ambitions for managing the hotel in Glasgow and looks forward to re-opening once a new owner is in place. No other Virgin hotel is impacted – all other Virgin Hotels remain open and operating as normal as all Virgin Hotels are independently owned.”