A preferred buyer has been identified by the administrators of a landmark four-star hotel in Southport.
The companies behind Waterfront Southport Hotel, which used to be called Bliss Hotel, collapsed into administration in October last year.
Paul Davies and Sandra Mundy of advisory firm James Cowper Kreston were appointed by Waterfront Southport Properties Ltd and Waterfront Hotels (Southport) Ltd to oversee the process.
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The hotel, which is located on Southport’s waterfront next to the planned £73m Marine Lakes Events Centre, was put on the market at the end of September. It has remained trading since the companies entered administration.
It includes 131 bedrooms and penthouses, a lounge bar, restaurant, roof garden, gym, conferencing and events space, as well as secure underground car parking for 120 cars.
In December 2022, BusinessLive reported that Waterfront Southport Properties Ltd owed £18.2m to its creditors when it entered administration.
At the start of this year, the hotel was forced to change its name after a former boss demanded £20,000 a month.
Now, in a newly-filed document with Companies House, the administrators have confirmed that a preferred buyer has been identified for Waterfront Southport Properties Ltd.
They said: "We have a preferred buyer for the property who wishes to also redevelop the unoccupied building adjacent to the main hotel but remain at an early stage in the process as we discuss the potential assignment of the lease with the freehold owner.
"Whilst we remain hopeful that we move forward with an assignment of the long leasehold to this buyer, we are not in a position commercially to release any further information about the anticipated value and timing of this sale."
The unoccupied building had been used by Greene King until the company moved out in December 2022.
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