Legacy takes over 30 James Street
Legacy Hotels & Resorts plans to invest a “significant” amount of money to repair the grade two-listed hotel in Liverpool, which it plans to reopen by the end of July after the collapse of its previous operator, the hotels arm of developer Signature Living Group.
Hospitality group Legacy was appointed to take over the running of the 63-bedroom hotel by consultancy Savills, which was appointed as receiver to the property in May.
Signature Living Hotel and its parent group company will have no further links to the management of the hotel, according to Legacy.
The hotel opened in 2014 under Lawrence Kenwright’s Signature Living brand. Last May, Signature put the building on the market with a guide price of £16m.
Signature planned to sell the freehold of 30 James Street and another of its Liverpool assets, the Shankly Hotel, to fund expansion plans.
However, the hotels arm was forced to call called in administrators at Duff & Phelps in April.
Julian Clarke, director of recoveries and receivership at Savills, said: “We quickly identified that there were some urgent works needed to get the building in good shape for reopening.
“We also carefully considered our options to reopen the hotel, and are now working with Legacy to bring this about.”
Jim Gordon, managing director of Legacy Hotels and Resorts, added: “This is a new beginning. The hotel is a key asset for Liverpool’s visitor economy, and it is important that we reopen it as soon as possible as the city begins to open up again after the coronavirus pandemic.”
The hospitality industry is gearing up to reopen on 4 July following an announcement this week by Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
30 James Street was designed by Victorian architect Norman Shaw and completed in 1896. Banded in red brick and white stone, the building has earned the nickname of the ‘streaky bacon building’.
Legacy also operates the Pullman Hotel on Liverpool’s waterfront and plans to open a Novotel at the new Paddington Village near the University of Liverpool.
