A popular hotel and wedding venue in Menstrie has gone into liquidation – leaving couples with wedding plans in disarray, claiming they have been left in the dark over the move.
Rumours of trouble at Broomhall Castle began emerging on Tuesday evening on social media, despite no formal confirmation from the owners via any official channel.
However, a notice has since appeared at the castle advising that it has been placed into liquidation, with “economic circumstances” being cited as the reason for the sudden move.
One couple who were set to be hitched at Broomhall Castle next February told the Observer they only found out about the liquidation after a friend advised them about the rumours on social media.
Jennifer Currie from Stirling, who was set to marry partner Rachel Jenkins in a Harry Potter-themed ceremony, then phoned the castle, with a member of staff admitting the hotel was moving into liquidation.
Jennifer said: “We went into Broomhall on July 13 to see it and ended up booking it that day and paying the £1000 deposit.
“Everything appeared to be fine and we actually went up there last week with some of my partner’s family members and were set to go up there again on Sunday for a menu tasting.
Click here for more news and sport from the Stirling area.
“It all came about on Tuesday night when one of our friends messaged us to say they had read on Facebook that Broomhall had closed their doors.
“We phoned them about 10.30pm that night and the poor guy answered and said that was correct and that he was really sorry.
“We’re just flabbergasted by it all and it has come as a bit of a shock because there was no indication something like this was going to happen and it has left us having to scrape around for a venue to get married in February.
“We’ve tried ringing them and sending emails since but we’ve heard nothing back and one of the worst things is that they’ve not actually told us without us having to pre-empt it – you would think they should send an email to everyone who has bookings.”
In a statement, liquidators Ken Pattullo and Kenny Craig from Begbies Traynor confirmed they had been appointed as liquidators for Broomhall Castle Management Ltd.
They confirmed the business had suffered from the impact from the pandemic and accrued debts had made the business “unviable” – with all 12 staff being made redundant.
Mr Pattullo, managing partner at Begbies Traynor in Scotland, said: “It is sad to see the demise of this popular hotel after almost 40 years in business.
“Unfortunately, the hospitality sector was one of the worst affected by the disruption of the pandemic with the series of lockdowns over the last two years resulting in a significant loss of revenue.
“We are currently in the process of realising any assets we can to provide the best return for creditors, as well as liaising with anyone who has bookings at the hotel to advise them of the situation so that they can make alternative arrangements for their weddings.
“There are currently 18 weddings booked, almost all of which have been secured via credit cards, so these customers should be able to get their deposits reimbursed by the credit card companies.”
The joint liquidators also confirmed that they would assist former staff at Broomhall with any claims to the Redundancy Payments Office, as well as accessing support from PACE.
