A HOTEL general manager today reassured customers it was “business as usual” despite administrators being appointed to the business' struggling parent company.

A HOTEL general manager today reassured customers it was “business as usual” despite administrators being appointed to the business' struggling parent company.

The Belstead Brook Hotel is part of the Swallow Hotels group which was placed into administration earlier this month.

While the future of the hotel, in Belstead Road, Ipswich, remains unclear, its general manager Peter Bartlett said staff remained committed to its customers.

Mr Bartlett said: “It's currently business as usual at The Belstead Brook.

“Everyone is optimistic about the future because we're a successful business as a hotel.

“We are doing what we do best and we do have the support of the suppliers and we've got a team of people that are still committed to the customers.”

While unable to comment on exact details about the business' future because that is in the hands of administrators, Mr Bartlett said: “I can say personally that I'm optimistic about the future of this property.”

Ernst & Young was appointed as administrates of Swallow Hotels and London and Edinburgh Inns after the group said it had struggled for some time in the face of increasingly heavy losses.

It has already announced the sale, subject to contract, of the business and assets of 240 hotels and pubs to Flodrive Group and its joint venture partners but the fate of the remainder of the business remains unclear.

Roy Bailey, one of the joint administrators, said: “We are delighted to have made early progress in salvaging a material part of the hotel and pub portfolio and importantly securing the jobs of almost 2,500 employees.”

Swallow Group operates 671 sites across the UK and has about 7,300 staff.

Ernst & Young said the firm would operate as normal while it examined options including the sale of assets.

The three-star Belstead Brook Hotel sits in nine acres of gardens and it includes an original 16th Century hunting lodge. It has a hotel, conference centre and a leisure club.

WEBLINK: www.swallow-hotels.com