Jobs at risk as hotel group calls in administrators (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Owners of Great Victoria in Bradford call in administrators

10:00am Thursday 2nd September 2010 in News By Chris Holland , Business Reporter

The company that owns Bradford’s historic Great Victoria hotel and two others has gone into administration, putting about 150 jobs at risk.

Bradford-based Tomahawk Hotels Ltd, which has lavished millions of pounds on the Great Victoria since buying it in 2005, is understood to have called in the administrators about a week ago.

Tomahawk also owns the Woodlands in Leeds and Aston Hall in Sheffield.

All three hotels are continuing to trade under the management of BDL Hotels, a Glasgow-based company which is expert in dealing with banks and their hotels in administration. The company is now managing 15 hotels in administration.

The company says it has an established reputation of being able navigate through the complexities of a hotel group in administration, while keeping the hotels trading profitably. It also runs hotels on contracts.

Tomahawk Hotels Ltd was founded by Rob Foulston and Tom Horsfall, who had plans to expand the group to ten hotels over ten years. The partners said they had been attracted by Bradford’s regeneration plans.

They changed the name of the former Victoria Hotel, which originally opened in 1867, to the Great Victoria and embarked on a major investment programme. Later that year the hotel said it was filling most of its 70 bedrooms on most nights, with a 100 per cent occupancy rate on three nights of the week.

Ned Basic, who owns the Dubrovnic Hotel in Oak Avenue, Bradford, said hotel operators were facing a tough time. He said: “It is really bad news about Tomahawk and the Great Victoria in particular.”