'Huge interest' in Booth's hotels

13 July 2011 Last updated at 14:00 GMT The Wynnstay Arms in Wrexham was closed just before administrators were called in Administrators claim there is "huge interest" from potential buyers interested in four north Wales hotels owned by businesswoman Stephanie Booth.

KPMG says it has had 13 inquiries after Llangollen Hotels, a chain of seven hotels, went into administration.

Administrators are trying to sell four freehold hotels in Wrexham and Llangollen to pay off debts, including ?900,000 to Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs.

All the hotels are continuing to trade.

They are Bodidris Hall in Llandegla, Wrexham, and The Wild Pheasant, The Chainbridge and The Bryn Howel, all in Llangollen, Denbighshire.

David Costley-Wood, joint administrator and restructuring partner at KPMG, said: "There has been a huge amount of interest and we have had an encouraging number of inquiries from potential buyers for the hotels.

"The administrators have been in dialogue with 15 interested parties including trade buyers, individuals and other businesses. We are confident of securing the future of the four hotels."

Llangollen Hotels and its parent company Global Investments Group went into administration on Friday.

All bookings and deposits are being honoured while the administrators find buyers.

The Wynnstay Arms Hotel in Wrexham town centre has closed but another two leased hotels remain open.

They are The Anchor Hotel in Ruthin, Denbighshire, and The Chester Bridge Hotel, Chester.

Global Investments Group operates three children's soft play centres: Fantastic Fun Houses, in Mold, Flintshire; in Wrexham, in Oswestry, Shropshire; as well as McLarens, a wine bar in Oswestry.

The Mold and Wrexham play centres have closed.

Ms Booth says she is continuing to run The Anchor and Chester Bridge hotels, the Oswestry play centre and McLarens wine bar.

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Still no interest in Vetch site

9 July 2011 Last updated at 07:41 GMT The ground was demolished in February There is still no interest in the site of Swansea City FC's former home, the Vetch Field, despite ?700,000 being spent to demolish the ground.

The club moved to the Liberty Stadium in 2005 but Swansea council struggled to find a developer for the Vetch.

The council received a grant from the Welsh Government this year to flatten the site in the hope of attracting interest, but has failed to do so.

Council leader Chris Holley said it was "very disappointing".

The Vetch had been the Swans' home since 1912 until its final game in 2005, when fans grabbed pieces of the hallowed turf or snatched seats as keepsakes.

The site laid dormant since then and was initially put out to the marketplace in late 2009 but the economic downturn was blamed for lack of interest from developers.

Plans

Plans for the site in the Sandfields area of the city, included building 120 two, three and four-storey homes, a play area and a community centre.

Mr Holley said: "We hope a landscaped site and an upturn in market conditions will pave the way for redevelopment and a scheme that meets the aspirations of the nearby community.

"But we're also looking at what could be done at the Vetch site in the short-term once the landscaping is complete and hope to make some decisions on that this summer."

The West Stand of the old stadium before demolition

He added: "We are looking at ways with developers but there's little value in the land."

But Mr Holley ruled out giving the land away for free.

In February, there were calls for the site to be used for allotments once landscaping was completed until a developer was found.

A council spokesman said at the time: "Any project of this nature would have to be temporary as the site is intended for redevelopment."

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