James Brent's hotel chain went bust leaving more than £4m in unpaid debts

A hotel chain run by former Plymouth Argyle chairman James Brent left its workers owed almost £150,000 and total unpaid debts of more than £4m when it went bust. Suite Hospitality Ltd – which had hotels in Exeter, Windsor and Derbyshire - went into administration in June 2020 after talks with major creditors and landlords failed to find a way for the troubled chain to remain in operation.

Now, two years on, joint administrators at Begbies Traynor Group Plc have revealed that more than £4m is owed to creditors, but there is no cash to pay them. It had been hoped that former employees would have received some of the £146,593 they were due in arrears of wages, salary and holiday pay but it turns out there is simply not enough money to do this.

In addition, claims of unsecured creditors are now estimated at £4,180,485 but they won’t get a penny. The joint administrators said: “There have been insufficient realisations to pay a dividend to unsecured creditors.”

These creditors include the landlords of Exeter’s Buckerell Lodge Hotel, Windsor’s Harte and Garter and Goswell House hotels and the Makeney Hall Hotel in the Peak District, owed more than £1.5m. One landlord is the Queen’s the Crown Estate, which is £1,113,071 short.

HMRC is owed £320,000 in VAT, and more than £380,000 in other unpaid taxes, and dozens of trade creditors are owed a combined £865,712. Of these Exeter City Council is owed more than £27,000, South West Water more than £19,000 and Exeter-based EDF Energy £10,000.

A huge number of small companies are out of pocket too, including Exter’s Tozers Solicitors, by £6,551, Exeter’s Gibbins Quality Meats by £2,633, and Honiton’s Otter Brewery, which is owed £1,200.

On top of this, Mr Brent’s Exeter-headquartered holding company Natatomisam Ltd lent Suite Hospitality, of which he is also a director, £571,000. But the company will suffer a “shortfall” even though it was secured by a floating charge in respect of money owed by debtors. A newly written final progress report from the joint administrators revealed just £20,030 was collected from trade debtors.

Another secured creditor, Choice Hotels International Holding Company, has a fixed charge over the Harte and Garter Hotel, with £74,169 owed to it at the date of the appointment of administrators. But that company and Natatomisam will be out of pocket with the administrators’ new report saying: “No dividends

Another secured creditor, Choice Hotels International Holding Company, has a fixed charge over the Harte and Garter Hotel, with £74,169 owed to it at the date of the appointment of administrators. But that company and Natatomisam will be out of pocket with the administrators’ new report saying: “No dividends have been paid to secured creditors and they will both suffer shortfalls under their charges.”

The joint administrators have now said that unless a court orders otherwise Suite Hospitality Ltd will be dissolved at the end of September 2022. Mr Brent, who is also a director of Plymouth Pavilions, declined to comment.

Suite Hospitality was incorporated in 2013 and initially operated five hotels and a health spa, but surrendered the lease on one hotel and the spa in 2018. It left it with the Buckerell Lodge Hotel, on Topsham Road, Exeter; the Harte and Garter Hotel and Goswell House, both in Windsor; and the Makeney Hall Hotel , Belper, Derbyshire, all run under leases.

Documents filed at Companies House showed the chain, of which Mr Brent was one of three directors, made losses of £137,557 and £444,613 in 2018 and 2017 respectively and had to take a loan from Mr Brent’s Natatomisam holding company. During 2019, Suite Hospitality suffered poor trading and needed money for essential repairs, taking £300,000 from its parent company and slashing costs.

A deal which saw it rent restaurant space at the Windsor hotel to the famous The Ivy chain turned sour when a £3m refurbishment faltered and it was closed for Christmas 2019. The Covid pandemic then struck and though Buckerell Lodge and Makeney Hall remained open for key workers, falling revenues meant deals with creditors had to be struck.

But two of the four hotel landlords would not budge on proposals put before them. As trading conditions

worsened directors decided the best course of action was to appoint administrators. All the hotels have now reopened under new owners. Buckerell Lodge is trading again as a hotel, called The Buckerell.

Plymouthlive

How many more times is this going to happen before something is done about him!

He is a vile creature, all of his assets should be siezed under the proceeds of crime act.

he should be banned from running any companies

What it needs is for companies that supply the hotel and leisure industries to refuse to supply any of his companies including the pavilions.

Isn't it time to move on?

Nothing will change until they change the buisness laws in this country to stop pricks like brent getting away with it time after if a normal person done that your get bird …but cos it’s buisness shit C#%Ts like him get away it ..and ruins peoples lives losing there jobs and some losing there homes everytime this dog pulls a move …it’s not right ethically morally wrong ..the piece of shit that he is

Les Miserable wrote:

He is a vile creature, all of his assets should be siezed under the proceeds of crime act.

absolutely Les

Grovehill wrote:

Isn't it time to move on?

Try saying that to people who are owed money and see how they react to you.

In fact he should be in a 12ft by 12 ft cell in exeter prison doing a 7 stretch the four eyed Prick with a inmate called loretta smashing one right up his arse

RegGreen wrote:

In fact he should be in a 12ft by 12 ft cell in exeter prison doing a 7 stretch the four eyed Prick with a inmate named Loretta smashing one right up his arse

RegGreen wrote:

Nothing will change until they change the buisness laws in this country to stop pricks like brent getting away with it time after if a normal person done that your get bird …but cos it’s buisness shit C#%Ts like him get away it ..and ruins peoples lives losing there jobs and some losing there homes everytime this dog pulls a move …it’s not right ethically morally wrong ..the piece of shit that he is

if companies he is involve with are declared bankrupt that should be enough to disbar him from being involved with the running of companies. Usually the case with individuals,

Angry wrote:

RegGreen wrote:

Nothing will change until they change the buisness laws in this country to stop pricks like brent getting away with it time after if a normal person done that your get bird …but cos it’s buisness shit C#%Ts like him get away it ..and ruins peoples lives losing there jobs and some losing there homes everytime this dog pulls a move …it’s not right ethically morally wrong ..the piece of shit that he is

if companies he is involve with are declared bankrupt that should be enough to disbar him from being involved with the running of companies. Usually the case with individuals,

but unfortunately not with him 56 bankruptcies & disolvements and counting it’s all in the public domain the slippery bastard knows all the tricks to get around it so he can still operate F#%King company’s & people over it’s how he robs his money the more he deliberately fecks over a company the more money he earns ..that’s why his never delivers on jack shit and moves on to the next victim

We have so much to be grateful to Simon Hallet for buying the club from brent it could so easily be 57 bankruptcies.

According to pisspoti. It was an admin error and a very slight misunderstanding. Nothing to see. Move along.

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee saved uzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

This from April this year, the man is a cockroach

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“The group emerges from the pandemic with a strong balance sheet, good liquidity and a positive view of the future.”

It's too easy for guys like Brent because your average punter is dazzled by anyone with a posh accent who went to Uni. Shorely he should be banned as a director for five years over this shit show?
Surprised all the protests by The Cornflake didn't stop him in his tracks with buying Argyle, did he even email him?

Brent didn't go to Uni.

Clodagh Rubbish wrote:

Brent didn't go to Uni.

Where did he go to school? Don't tell me, Brexit.

Earwegoagain wrote:

Clodagh Rubbish wrote:

Brent didn't go to Uni.

Where did he go to school? Don't tell me, Brexit.

He went to a fee paying school  before landing a plum job on the trading floor.

A bit like Nigel Farage. In fact a lot like Nigel Farage.

Nigels alright though isn't he.

mouldyoldgoat wrote:

Grovehill wrote:

Isn't it time to move on?

Try saying that to people who are owed money and see how they react to you.

I just don't see the point of going over the whole Brent thing time and again on a football forum.


Don't get me wrong, I was one of the first to question Brent's original involvement with PAFC asking why he couldn't pay office staff back wages etc. etc. but it's time to move on rather than keep going over old ground.



Also, it might not be a good idea to hold up some people as a shining light of financial probity-US laws are a lot more failed business friendly that in the UK so best not to dig too deep sometimes.

Clodagh Rubbish wrote:

Earwegoagain wrote:

Clodagh Rubbish wrote:

Brent didn't go to Uni.

Where did he go to school? Don't tell me, Brexit.

He went to a fee paying school  before landing a plum job on the trading floor.

A bit like Nigel Farage. In fact a lot like Nigel Farage.

Nigels alright though isn't he.

I think he talks a lot of sense at times.

Cheesy-Chips wrote:

Clodagh Rubbish wrote:

Earwegoagain wrote:

Clodagh Rubbish wrote:

Brent didn't go to Uni.

Where did he go to school? Don't tell me, Brexit.

He went to a fee paying school  before landing a plum job on the trading floor.

A bit like Nigel Farage. In fact a lot like Nigel Farage.

Nigels alright though isn't he.

I think he talks a lot of sense at times.

He's a great bloke we have him to thank for the pretentious twat Cameron thinking he could fool the public with project fear and lay the Brexit problem to bed forever, all because Nite realized what the public (the majority that is) wanted, he deserves a good retirement now his work is done.

I have just come back from Central Park, to my surprise Mr Brent was there checking out his land but he was under cover wearing a black fur coat and a long tail, when saw me he ran and hide in the bushes

Tgwu wrote:

I have just come back from Central Park, to my surprise Mr Brent was there checking out his land but he was under cover wearing a black fur coat and a long tail, when saw me he ran and hide in the bushes

the bastard