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A landmark hotel at South Shields seafront has gone into administration after undergoing a £550,000 just months before the first national lockdown.

The Sea Hotel, in Sea Road, South Shields officially entered administration on Monday, July 18, with administrators saying they will look to market the hotel with the intent of finding a buyer.

The team said the hotel, which was built in the 1930s, will remain open and will honour all future bookings and events. Administrators say it is unclear whether any redundancies will be made.

The Sea Hotel reopened in January 2020 just before the Covid pandemic, after new owners High Street Hospitality borrowed £1.15million from lender Assetz Capital to fund the purchase and refurbishment.

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The hotel, which overlooks South Marine Park, has 34 fully refurbished en-suite bedrooms, including a honeymoon suite.

Lee Lockwood and Gareth Harris of RSM UK Restructuring Advisory LLP were appointed as joint administrators of Hotel 52 (Sea) Limited on July 18, 2022.

Mr Lockwood, partner at RSM UK and joint administrator, said: “RSM UK were appointed administrators of Hotel 52 (Sea) Limited which operated the Sea Hotel on the beach front in South Shields.

"As administrators, we are currently reviewing the company’s business to evaluate the options available to creditors and formulate proposals.

"As part of this process, the hotel will remain open, and trading will continue. Whilst it does, we will aim to honour all future bookings and events including those where deposits have been paid.

“It is unclear whether there will need to be any redundancies at this stage, and we are actively consulting with the company’s employees in this regard.

"To provide the employees and other stakeholders with the best possible outcome, we intend to market the hotel with a view to finding a buyer as a going concern. Full marketing details will be released in due course.”

Initially, before the pandemic gripped the country, the refurbishment is said to have led to an increase in turnover of more than 70% and saw a significant boost in wedding and event bookings.

South Shields' Sea Hotel goes into administration - redundancy consultation and search for buyer under way