There was a grand hoopla when the people running The George Hotel in Yarmouth changed in 2019. The catering press reported it on the 7th January as, “Isle of Wight’s George Hotel to be taken over by friend of the royals”, declaring that it was to be “taken over by entrepreneur Howard Spooner”.
They went on to state that he’d previously run nightclubs in Chelsea, Fulham, Clapham and Hammersmith, and had a club in the Swiss ski resort of Verbier.
Voluntary liquidation
Fast forward to now and News OnTheWight has learnt that the company which has been operating The George Hotel, Quay Street Ltd, has gone into voluntary liquidation, leaving thousands of pounds owed to Isle of Wight companies.
Contacting The George, they tell News OnTheWight that they remain open and trading.
Nearly £1m owing
Quay Street Ltd – trading as The George Hotel and Beach Club – owned by Howard Spooner, appointed a liquidator in May 2023 with nearly £1m owing.
£665,276.40 of that is owing to HM Revenue & Customs (for VAT and PAYE/NI).
More than £30,000 is owed to organisations on the Isle of Wight, as well as £10,717.81 Isle of Wight council for unpaid rates.
Media attention
You may have seen Howard in one of his many appearances on the Channel 5 series, The Jewel of the South, that started airing in March.
Following the appointment of a voluntary liquidator in May, the hotel continued to operate, with their social media posts showing it busier than ever – helped no doubt by the TV appearances.
Being operated by a new company
Phoning The George and finding it open and trading, it was natural to wonder how it was still running when the company that had been operating it had gone into liquidation.
News OnTheWight has discovered that the hotel in Yarmouth is now being operated by a new company, Solent View Hotels Ltd.
Companies House reports that it was incorporated on 2nd February 2023 and has just one director, 26-year-old Felix Spooner.
No word from Howard Spooner or liquidator
News OnTheWight wrote to The George, who told us they had forwarded our message to Howard Spooner earlier this month, offering him the opportunity to provide a response to the situation.
Mr Spooner failed to respond.
News OnTheWight also wrote to the liquidator, who replied,
“Unfortunately, we are unable to comment on live cases.”
Image: © Google Maps
