Eastbourne hotel holding company collapses 13 months after incorporation
Begbies Traynor's Andrew Andronikou and Andrew Hosking were appointed administrators to Devonshire Park Hotel Holdings Limited on 14 May 2026 by the High Court.
Information for general guidance, drawn from the public record. Not legal, financial, or insolvency advice. If you are affected by an insolvency, consult a licensed practitioner or qualified solicitor.
Devonshire Park Hotel Holdings Limited, incorporated in April 2024 and registered at the Devonshire Park Hotel on Carlisle Road in Eastbourne, entered administration on 14 May 2026. In just over a year of existence, the company had cycled through four directors.
The High Court of Justice, Business and Property Courts of England and Wales sealed the appointment under court number CR-2026-003734. The company is classified under SIC code 55100, covering hotels and similar accommodation. Its registered office moved from Kings Langley in Hertfordshire to the Eastbourne hotel address in October 2024.
The administrators
Andrew Andronikou and Andrew Hosking of Begbies Traynor were appointed as joint administrators. Two licensed insolvency practitioners have taken control of the company to attempt to rescue it, sell it as a going concern, or realise its assets for creditors. Either may act alone unless the appointment specifies otherwise. Andronikou holds IP number 8806. Administration is a formal insolvency process governed by Schedule B1 of the Insolvency Act 1986, which sets out how companies in England and Wales enter and operate under administration.
A short and turbulent corporate life
The company was incorporated on 10 April 2024. Alexandre Semenov was its founding director, appointed on the same day, but resigned by 5 September 2024, less than five months in. James Paul Elborn joined as director on 16 August 2024 and resigned on 25 May 2025. Liam Paul McIlhatton then took the role from 26 May 2025 before stepping down on 1 May 2026. Harry Godfrey was appointed director on 1 May 2026, just 13 days before the administration appointment. Companies House filings from 12 May 2026 also record Godfrey as a person with significant control from 1 May 2026. He was the director in office at the point of administration.
No secured charges are registered against the company at Companies House, so there are no outstanding fixed or floating charge holders to note.
What this means for creditors and customers
Once administrators are appointed, they take over correspondence with known creditors and issue statutory communications in due course. Any contact with the administration is conducted through Begbies Traynor at the address listed on the court notice.
Creditors wishing to evidence what they are owed do so by submitting a proof of debt, the formal claim form used in insolvency proceedings to record the amount a creditor says is outstanding.
The appointment triggers a moratorium under paragraph 43 of Schedule B1 of the Insolvency Act 1986, which pauses most creditor enforcement action. Creditors generally cannot start or continue court proceedings against the company without the court's permission for as long as the moratorium remains in force.
Customers who have paid deposits or hold prepaid arrangements with the hotel rank as unsecured creditors. Their claims are not backed by a charge over the company's assets and sit behind secured and preferential creditors in the distribution hierarchy.
Employees whose wages, notice pay, or redundancy entitlements are affected by the administration have preferential status for some arrears of pay. Where the company cannot meet those obligations, the Redundancy Payments Service, a government body, handles statutory redundancy and related claims on the company's behalf, with the amounts then recovered from the insolvent estate.
Common questions
Are you owed money by Devonshire Park Hotel Holdings Limited?
You are an unsecured creditor unless you hold a registered charge or retention of title. The administrators will write to known creditors in due course with a proof-of-debt form and timetable for the first meeting. Until that letter arrives, no formal action is required from you. Read more about proof of debt and where you sit in the creditor hierarchy.
Did you work at Devonshire Park Hotel Holdings Limited?
Wages owed up to a statutory cap, holiday pay, notice pay and redundancy may be claimable from the Redundancy Payments Service if the company is unable to pay. The administrators will normally coordinate the RP1 claim with the affected staff. See gov.uk: your rights if your employer is insolvent.
Do you hold a deposit, gift card or undelivered order from Devonshire Park Hotel Holdings Limited?
Customers with paid-but-undelivered orders, gift cards or deposits typically rank as unsecured creditors. Where you paid by credit card and the amount was over £100, Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 may let you claim from the card issuer for breach of contract or misrepresentation by the supplier; the rules apply per item, not per transaction, and the card must be a regulated credit card. Debit-card payments may be recoverable via chargeback.
Are you a director of a company connected to Devonshire Park Hotel Holdings Limited?
Watch for Section 216 of the Insolvency Act 1986 if you intend to keep trading under a similar name in a successor company. The rule prohibits a director of a liquidated company from being involved in another company using the same or a similar name for five years, unless one of the statutory exceptions applies. Read more about Section 216.
Sources
- The London Gazette notice (code Appointment of Administrators)
- Companies House record 15634920
- Court: High Court of Justice
- Editorial standards: how we source and review; five-pass pipeline.
