Flamboyant property personality sees hotel empire sold off by administrators

Flamboyant property personality sees hotel empire sold off by administrators




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A flamboyant property tycoon has seen two of his former hotels sold by administrators for an undisclosed sum this week, following the collapse of his empire.

Once a multimillionaire, North Yorkshire businessman David Hattersley went bankrupt last year with £4 million of bank debt, following a three-year, £20 million spending spree on property.

His property portfolio included 700-year-old Lendal Tower in York, The Lamb & Lion Inn in High Petergate and the two recently-sold hotels – Guy Fawkes and Marmadukes.

A report in the Yorkshire Post states that the hotels of the former property entrepreneur have been sold for an undisclosed sum to an unnamed buyer, in a sale handled by property agency Colliers International, on behalf of joint administrators Phil Pierce and Andrew Sheridan of Baker Tilly Restructuring & Recovery.

Peter Bean, director of Colliers International in Leeds, speaking with the Yorkshire Post, said: “Guy Fawkes and Marmadukes created a high level of interest from buyers attracted by their high-quality facilities and outstanding trading locations in this major tourist destination city which continues to perform well. The whole process from first viewings to completion of the sales took about five months.”

Despite the above mentioned ‘high-quality’ facilities of the hotel, both receive scathing reviews on consumer website tripadvisor.com, with tourists lambasting the management and customer service.

One post, dated from September 2006, even contains a letter from David Hattersley, responding to a visitor’s complaint. It reads: “We don’t want, need, or like people like you... Don’t expect me to lick your a*** when you have walked out of my Hotel having treated my family and staff like s***.”

The 42-year-old property entrepreneur grew up in a Derbyshire council flat and following involvement in an ice cream and deep sea trawler business, he began to build up a property profile in 1994. By 2006 he was operating in 11 countries, and spent more than £15 million on property projects.

However, Hattersley succumbed to the downturn in the property market in October 2009, declaring himself bankrupt after the collapse of his two companies – the de Bretton Hospitality Group and property group D & SJ Hattersley Properties.

The businessman has come under fire in the past for his outspoken views on “chavs and scumbags” and beggars, accusing the police and council staff in the York area of doing nothing to tackle the issue.

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