Belfast's George Best hotel never opened; room investors put in nearly £6M and lost out

The George Best hotel project in Belfast was being developed by Liverpool businessman Lawrence Kenwright. Individual investors put almost £6M into buying individual bedrooms from which they hoped to earn a return. The hotel went into administration in April 2020 without ever opening.

In June 2022 the BBC reported that those small investors faced losing all of their money after a judge agreed the building could be sold. The bedroom investors ranked behind the major lender to the project, a finance firm called Lyell Trading. The administrators had asked the judge to remove the liens, or legal claims, the bedroom investors held over the project, so the building could be sold and Lyell could recoup part of its debt.

The investors had tried to delay the sale in the hope that a developer would work with them to recover their money. The judge said time had been given to explore another investor, after an early proposal from the Martin Property Group, but that proposal was incomplete and contingent on matters that were never agreed. No viable proposals were put forward to recover the investments, so the sale application was granted.

Bedroom investors put in almost £6M and are unlikely to recoup any of it; a judge said some had invested their 'lifetime savings'.

The hotel entered administration in April 2020 without ever opening, so the rooms never produced the returns investors were promised.

Individual bedroom investors ranked behind the project's major lender, Lyell Trading, when the building's value was shared out.

The only rescue proposal, from the Martin Property Group, was incomplete and contingent on matters never agreed.

No viable proposals emerged to recover the investors' money, so the judge allowed the sale.

A small investor buying a single hotel room is last in the queue behind the lenders. Before buying, check where the investment ranks if the project fails to open.

The judge said she had 'immense sympathy' for those who stood to lose their entire investment without any return, and that she understood that in some cases it made up their lifetime savings. The BBC reported that the bedroom investors were now unlikely to recoup any of their investment.