Morecambe's Midland for sale as plans are scrapped

A £10m project to restore Morecambe's Midland hotel has been scrapped due to escalating costs, and the hotel is for sale again.

The owner, a Lincolnshire-based firm called Leisure Group UK, gained planning permission for the project in April (Caterer, 11 April, page 16). Estimated costs rose after asbestos was found in the concrete, requiring much longer to remove than anticipated. The company's unnamed private equity backers were unwilling to exceed the £10m put aside, and agent Knight Frank has been appointed to sell the hotel.

Leisure Group UK, which has changed its name three times in the past year, bought the seafront hotel just over a year ago for more than its £325,000 valuation. The premises, which have been closed since November 2000, have since fallen into disrepair.

Mike Baron, managing director of Leisure Group UK, said: "We are disappointed that we are unable to deliver our dream. It is sad that such an exciting project should have to end this way, especially with the amount of time and effort expended."

The idea had been to restore the Lancashire hotel to its 1930s art deco style. Seven staff at its visitor centre have been offered a redundancy package.

by Ben Walker