Surtees Hotel in administration

One of the North-east's best-known hotel and restaurant owners has put his business into administration.

Brian MacKay is owner of Surtees Hotel Ltd, which ran the 35-bedroom Surtees hotel, the Quay nightclub, the Au Bar and 18 Dean Street restaurant, all on Newcastle's Quayside.

PricewaterhouseCoopers confirmed that the company had debts of more than £2m. However, there are high hopes of saving the company, which employs 50 people.

Ian Lester, senior partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, is handling the administration. He said: "We're hopeful we will be able to sell it as a going concern. The location is a very popular one and we are confident it will be sold very quickly. There have already been a number of expressions of interest."

MacKay was one of the first to venture into the rundown waterfront when work began in the early 1980s to convert it into an upmarket venue. He was unavailable for comment.