Entrepreneur’s hotels go into administration
TWO hotels owned by the under fire entrepreneur Gavin Woodhouse have gone into administration.
The high court appointed Philip Francis Duffy and Sarah Helen Bell, of Duff & Phelps Ltd, as administrators of Caer Rhun Hall in the Conwy Valley and Fourcroft Hotel in Tenby.
The hotels will both remain open and continue to trade while in administration.
They are both owned by Gavin Woodhouse’s company Northern Powerhouse Developments(NPD).
In recent weeks Mr Woodhouse and NPD have come under scrutiny.
A probe was started into the finances of NPD after insolvency practitioners Duff & Phelps were appointed interim managers by the
High Court. The Serious Fraud Office is also considering whether to investigate Gavin Woodhouse’s hotel and care home businesses.
This followed a referral by Labour MP John Mann, a long-standing member of parliament’s Treasury select committee.
A spokesman for Duff & Phelps confirmed the appointment of Phil Duffy and Sarah Bell as administrators.
They said both hotels are continuing to trade while a buyer is sought.
The website for Northern Powerhouse Developments no longer exists and the previous press contact said they were no longer working with the company.
Gavin Woodhouse has previously denied doing anything wrong.
He has said: “I am unable to comment in detail on matters that are the subject of ongoing court proceedings. I hope to address the issues raised publicly when I am able to do so.”
Caer Rhun Hall dates from 1895 and was built for a Major-General Gough, who was Lieutenant Governor of Jersey between 1904 to 1910.
Ronald Anderson founded an accountancy school at the site nearly 70 years ago but this closed in 2015 and the site sold to NPD by his son John Anderson.
Before its purchase by NPD the hotel had been in the same family since the early 1940s. The Georgian terrace hotel was sold in 2017 for an undisclosed sum following a deal brokered by Colliers International.
Looking down at the harbour and North Beach, the Fourcroft hotel sits on the cliffs boasting stunning views.
Given it’s location, it’s well placed for beach access and is just a fiveminute walk from the walled town centre, shops, art galleries and pubs.
The hotel is part of a Georgian terrace, built between 1830 and 1832, and is next door to Croft House which has just been taken off the market.
The properly, which was a former holiday of author Beatrix Potter, was for sale through Fine & Country for £1.8m.