Baby Grand Hotel Company selling hotel following administration

The Baby Grand Hotel Company - the business behind the 42 The Calls Hotel in Leeds - has called in administrators.

The company has appointed Rob Croxen, David Crawshaw and Blair Nimmo from KPMG's restructuring practice to find a buyer for the four-star boutique hotel. It will continue to trade as normal while a buyer is being sought.

Baby Grand is a subsidiary of the London-based Scotsman Hotel Group Limited (SHGL), which itself entered administration at the end of October this year. It has been reported that SHGL was placed into administration by its bankers at Lloyds TSB, after gathering debts of around £50 million.

SHGL has been encountering significant financial difficulties, despite being owned by Saudi hotel magnate, Sheikh Mohamed Bin Issa Al Jaber, who was recently ranked the 93rd richest man in the world. He bought SHGL in 2006 for around £63 million.

The company was originally launched in 1999 in a £90 million joint venture between Botts Private Equity and the Bank of Scotland. As well as 42 The Calls, it also owns the five-star Scotsman in Edinburgh and the four-star Hotel de la Tremoille in Paris.