The Cumbria Grand Hotel in Grange-over-Sands has entered administration, putting the future of one of the South Lakes’ best-known hotels under review while bookings continued to be accepted.
James Alexander Dewar and Alistair McAlinden of Interpath Advisory were appointed joint administrators of Strathmore Hotels Limited on 11 August 2026. The company owns the Cumbria Grand and seven other hotels across Scotland and England.
The development is relevant to people in Kendal because Grange-over-Sands is a nearby visitor destination and the hotel is described as one of the area’s larger employers and biggest sources of visitor accommodation.
Bookings were still open after administrators took control
Administration does not automatically mean that a business has closed. It is a legal insolvency process in which appointed practitioners take control, usually with the aim of rescuing the business or selling it.
When the hotel website was checked on 18 August, it was still selling rooms. The site displayed the administrators’ notice at the bottom of every page, but nothing on the company’s websites said existing bookings had been cancelled.
Anyone with a reservation should check directly with the hotel for updates. If the business stops trading or a booking is cancelled, Citizens Advice guidance includes possible chargeback and Section 75 claims through a card provider.
Hotel group employed an average of 415 people
Strathmore Hotels Limited’s most recent published accounts cover the year to 31 December 2023. They show turnover rising from £17,613,576 to £19,188,027, while profit before tax fell from £751,132 to £368,376.
Interest on bank overdrafts and loans more than doubled to £861,545, compared with £416,234 the previous year. Interest cover fell from 2.8 to 1.4, while bed occupancy edged up from 62 per cent to 63 per cent.
The accounts recorded an average of 415 employees during 2023, including 406 people working in the hotels and nine in administration. That figure includes directors and is an average monthly headcount, so it does not establish how many people are employed across the group today.
The accounts were given a clean audit opinion, and the auditor reported no material uncertainty about the company continuing as a going concern. However, the company’s 2024 accounts, due by 31 December 2025, had not been filed when the administration was reported.
What happens next for staff, suppliers and creditors?
Administrators now control Strathmore Hotels’ affairs and act as the company’s agents. Employees with questions about pay, working hours or their jobs are directed to the administrators rather than the previous management.
Suppliers, customers and staff owed money are creditors. The Gazette notice lists Sarah Coyne as the administrators’ contact on 0141 648 4334 and at [email protected].
The next significant public document should be the administrators’ statement of proposals. This normally has to be filed at Companies House within eight weeks of the appointment and should explain the proposed course of action and what creditors may recover.
Strathmore Hotels is registered as being “In Administration”. Its registered office moved on 17 August from East Kilbride to Interpath Advisory’s address at 130 St Vincent Street, Glasgow.
The Cumbria Grand occupies 20 acres of private gardens and woodland on Lindale Road, overlooking Morecambe Bay. Built in 1880 by the railway company as the Hazelwood Hydro, it later became known as the Golf Hotel and was used as an RAF officers’ training centre during the Second World War. It received a food hygiene rating of five following an inspection on 12 April 2026.
The administrators’ proposals will provide the clearest indication of whether the hotel can continue, be sold or face another outcome. Until that document is published, the confirmed position is that the owner is in administration while the hotel remains open for bookings.
