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Great Northern Hotel staff lose jobs as company goes under

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Published Date: 09 July 2009
Asha Mehta
DEVASTATED workers at the historic Great Northern Hotel today spoke of their "nightmare" after a shock letter informed them they had lost their jobs – because the company managing the business is insolvent.
Staff at the hotel, which sits opposite Peterborough railway station, expected to get back to work following what they understood was a temporary lay-off while the building underwent a six-week refurbishment starting on July 1.

But yesterday, a letter from bosses at Cre8, the company which has been running the hotel following its purchase by Renelson Investments SA for £3 million in April, dropped the bombshell that all 49 employees would be made redundant.

Signed by Cre8 director Lee Power, who fronted the deal to buy the hotel when former owners Mistvalley went into receivership in February, it said a firm of insolvency practitioners, Carter Clark, had been instructed to place the company into voluntary liquidation.

What do you think about the hotel's owners going into liquidation?
Comment below, email us: news@ peterboroughtoday.co.uk or write us a letter now.
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Headed "to all employees", the letter said: "I advise that after due consideration, it has been decided by the directors that the company should cease trading. As a consequence of this, your employment has been terminated."

However, the hotel car park remained open today – charging station commuters £12 a day to park, an unauthorised operation which has already seen the city council threaten enforcement action.

A city council spokeswoman said: "The city council is in discussion with the owner in respect of regularising the position. The owners have agreed to submit a planning application and that is being acted upon."

Today, chef Martin Cox (28), of Paynels, Orton Goldhay, Peterborough, said the letter from Cre8 had come as a bolt from the blue: "I wasn't expecting this at all," he said. "We got the impression we had jobs to go back to.

"It's gutting. It's been an absolute nightmare. I saw a light at the end of the tunnel, and then this happens."

Council leader Cllr Marco Cereste said: "It comes as a complete surprise. It's a tragedy. We, as an authority, will do whatever we can. Our aspiration is that the Great Northern Hotel continues."

Despite attempts to contact Mr Power by The Evening Telegraph, we have been unable to speak to him. MP Stewart Jackson said: "The Great Northern has a great heritage and I believe it has got a future."

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  • Last Updated: 09 July 2009 12:32 PM
  • Source: Peterborough ET
  • Location: Peterborough
 
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Robert De Niro,

09/07/2009 12:04:49
Surprise surprise!!
2

Robert De Niro,

09/07/2009 12:16:01
I've got an idea. Why don't we knock it down and build 20000 social housing flats. If we can't fill them we could send out flyers to other councils to see if they are interested in filling them for us. That would be a perfect council/government solution for all.
3

gar1000,

09/07/2009 12:21:26
Obviously the POWERs that be at PCC didn't see this one coming!! Our MP has the belief it has a great future? As what?
4

twink,

09/07/2009 13:06:58
And who would be accountable for the damage done to the building and gardens?

5

Ma Hubbard,

09/07/2009 13:30:30
So will the council now be putting in another bid to buy the GNH from the receivers, or have the funds been blown on a fleet of Fairline yachts for the water taxi scheme?
6

Rubygirl,

Peterborough 09/07/2009 13:44:12
What a complete and utter shambles. The council has well and truly taken its eye off the ball over this - perhaps it doesn't care and just wants the Great Northern knocked down anyway. How else can you explain the gross incompetence of the planning authorities. How can a company that's insolvent still charge £12 for parking? And what happened to the Duke Ellington statue - in wide boy Power's front garden perhaps. Look no further than this for evidence of why Peterborough is such a joke.
7

Honest Peterborian,

09/07/2009 13:55:48
Private enterprise and capitalists have messed this up, destroyed the gardens and sacked the staff – speculating shites.
How about public ownership to go along with the East Coast rail operation.

Or can some squatters get in there and open up a venue, bistro and tourist hostel.

The council should come up with a plan, use some of the Government job creation money, but don’t expect too much from a load of second rate Tories most of whom have made a living out of renting out shoddy dwellings and running second rate businesses. Remember the links with termastore and the last but one Tory council leader, both Peach and the current leader rent out overcrowded, overpriced dwellings in disrepair while raking in high rent through housing benefits.
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Sir Digby Chicken Caesar,

09/07/2009 13:59:06
The council tried, and failed, to buy the hotel. It does not have any connection with the winner bidder. As the local planning authority it obviously has responsibility for ensuring that buildings / gardens aren't knocked down / damaged for no reason, but it can't possibly be expected to watch every building 24/7 on the off-chance that its owners decided to start pulling the place apart. Blame Cre8, not PCC.
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Sir Digby Chicken Caesar,

09/07/2009 14:00:38
PS; Cre8 is in administration but Renelson Investments SA, which owns the building is not. Try reading the story!
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Sir Digby Chicken Caesar,

09/07/2009 14:21:51
If you run a normal company and want to, for whatever the reason, lay off some staff it can be a troublesome and expensive process because there are various legal hoops to jump through. However, if you set up a seperate company which employs the staff, and which later goes into adminstration, you don't have to pay anybody off because, technically, the firm no longer has any cash. It's a cheap way of sacking people.
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