Award-winning Mour Hotel enters ‘pointless’ administration in ‘horrible’ financial institution row

The Mour Hotel on Sherwood Business Park near Annesley, Nottinghamshire, appointed administrators on March 18 – it’s owner said it’s a ‘horrible thing to do and it was absolutely not necessary’

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An acclaimed 4-star hotel has gone into administration following a disagreement between the company running it and its bank. The operator of the 92-room Mour Hotel, situated on Sherwood Business Park near Annesley off the M1 in Nottinghamshire, appointed administrators on March 18.

Bob Maxwell and Julian Pitts of BTG, who have been appointed joint administrators of Seymour Capital Ltd, have confirmed that the striking venue is still operating but needs new ownership.

The hotel has not made any of its 60 staff redundant and continues to function as usual, with the administrators stating it would honour all existing bookings and seek to attract additional business until a buyer is found.

The business hotel, which boasts a 150-person event space, meeting rooms and a high-end bar and grill restaurant, as well as a fitness suite, was originally the first of the Dakota chain of hotels founded by former F1 driver David Coulthard and was designed by renowned hotel designer Amanda Rosa, reports Nottinghamshire Live.

Bob Maxwell, partner at restructuring firm BTG, said: “The hotel is a renowned, award-winning venue with a thriving midweek business following due to its stylish design and excellent location in the heart of the UK. The business has suffered from lower occupancy rates at weekends, and underutilisation of its excellent event facilities.

“The venue is 100% open as usual, and no bookings or event reservations will be affected in any way. The excellent management team at the Mour are helping to ensure that customers receive first-rate service and will be bringing new marketing efforts and deals to ensure the business trades positively while we work with agents to secure a buyer in the coming weeks.”

The appointment of administrators represents a dramatic move for any enterprise, but according to exasperated hotel proprietor Russell Allen it was “absolutely not necessary” in Mour Hotel’s situation.

Mr Allen, who revealed he had secured £6 million from Virgin Money to purchase the boutique establishment in 2010, insisted the operation was robust but had been unable to reach a “reasonable” financial restructuring with the lender.

“Unfortunately my bank, Virgin Money, that I’ve been with for 18 years, they told me they were going to support me and then they just pulled the plug,” the hotelier stated.

“The banks are terrible, they give you an umbrella and then when it’s raining they want it back.”

Mr Allen of Seymour Capital alleged that the bank had demanded he enter something called a tripartite agreement, which he claimed would grant Virgin Money control of the enterprise before any administration.

He revealed he had not consented to this as it would “tie his hands”, which he maintained then resulted in the bank refusing to extend his overdraft.

“I said ‘hang on a minute’. I don’t need any more money. We were not distressed or insolvent. We could pay all of our bills, we paid everything. We just couldn’t afford to pay back the capital [of the loan] in the last three or four years.”

Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Autumn Budget in October 2024 had contributed to a “really bad” 2025, he conceded, but recent developments in the area had given Mour Hotel hope.

Mr Allen stated that he had informed his bank that the unfortunate downfall of the Belfry hotel in Nottingham, as well as the planned expansion of Sherwood Business Park, would likely benefit the business.

“We were 40% up in January, 20 percent up in December, so everything was going in the right direction,” he added.

The hotel owner, who said he owed less than £6 million to Virgin Money, claimed he simply wanted the lender’s support until he could sell it – with the £6.75 million market price expected to be more than sufficient to cover what was owed.

“It’s a horrible thing to do and it was absolutely not necessary,” he added, explaining that his primary concern was for the future of his staff members.

Virgin Money told Nottinghamshire Live it would always strive to assist businesses through challenging times, but could not support Mour Hotel any longer.

“While we are not able to go into detail on specific cases, we will always try and support a business in difficulties,” a spokesperson said.

“However, on this occasion it has not been possible and administrators have been appointed.”

Joint administrator Mr Maxwell, who is now jointly overseeing the hotel, outlined that the business represented an attractive opportunity for a new owner who could obtain backing from Virgin Money.

“With the support of the lender, the business is perfectly viable, and we are confident that it will be a high-performing asset for a new owner with the required experience to optimise this type of venue,” he said.

“We intend to operate the hotel with the help of all the existing dedicated and hard-working staff until a trade buyer is secured.

“We anticipate a great deal of interest in the property and business due to its high quality, and the recent closure of a competing venue locally that has significantly boosted forward bookings.

“No redundancies are being made, in fact it is possible that we may need to hire more staff as we head into the busier spring and summer seasons.”