ON 6th March 2023, Ken Pattullo and Kenny Craig of Begbies Traynor were appointed as joint liquidators of the Highlander Hotel Ltd which traded as the Lomond Hills Hotel in Fife.
Located at the foot of the Lomond Hills in Freuchie, Cupar, the eighteenth century converted coaching inn dates back to 1733. It has 24 bedrooms as well as a restaurant, a public bar and a leisure centre, and was a popular wedding venue.
Unfortunately, like much of the hospitality sector, the business has been impacted by the cost of living crisis, seeing a downturn in trade as people have cut their luxury spend. The drop in occupancy, combined with the challenge of Covid-19 lockdowns, led to cash flow issues, making it unviable to continue to trade.
The hotel ceased to trade upon liquidation and all 17 staff have been made redundant.
Thomas McKay, partner at Begbies Traynor in Scotland, said: “Like many boutique hotels in small villages, the Lomond Hills Hotel has experienced very difficult trading conditions during the challenging winter season. Facing a perfect storm of financial pressures, the directors, in consultation with the business’ lenders, made the decision to enter liquidation as the hotel was no longer able to trade. We are currently working with local government bodies to support former employees by ensuring they receive appropriate redundancy advice.
“After almost 300 years as a coaching inn, we plan to appoint agents to present the hotel for sale in early spring and hope that it will again be able to operate in the hands of new owners.”
The joint liquidators are assisting the former staff by helping them to register any claims to the Redundancy Payments Office and access support services from PACE.
