Flat Cap Hotels still continue trading

Flat Cap Hotels, the collapsed restaurant and hospitality group, remains in business while administrators continue efforts to secure a buyer.
According to the latest report from Begbies Traynor, the appointed administrator, the company is still trading from its two sites: the Vicarage in Holmes Chapel and the Bridge in Prestbury.
The company also operated in the courthouse, Knutsford, but the administrator closed that down immediately the company went into administration.
The business recorded a loss of £137,178 between January and June 2025. Nearly £90,000 of that loss occurred in the first two months of the year, although the company returned to profitability in May and June, posting monthly profits of £4,153 and £11,816 respectively.
The company’s properties remain unsold.
Flat Cap Hotels had granted a fixed and floating charge (loan with a claim on assets) to Europa UK Debt III, with approximately £13.5 million outstanding at the time of the administrator’s appointment.
Europa is expected to receive a distribution but will not be repaid in full.
In addition, a legal charge over the Bridge property was granted to BEF in 2022, with the debt now standing at £182,499. The report anticipates that BEF will suffer “a material shortfall”.
The administrator has concluded that there will be insufficient funds to pay dividends to preferential creditors, including HMRC, and unsecured creditors are unlikely to receive any distribution.
The administration has been formally extended for a further 12 months.
Begbies Traynor said it would continue to trade the hotels for “as long as necessary” and will maintain head office functions throughout the extended administration period.
The report added: “We consider that the company will have insufficient property to enable a distribution to be made to unsecured creditors.
“Once we are satisfied that our duties have been fully discharged and the purpose of the administration achieved, we propose to move from administration to dissolution.”
However, the administrators cautioned that if the sale of the freehold properties could not be concluded, a further extension of up to 12 months may be required to complete the process.