COURIER OPINION: Lomond Hills Hotel closure shows how firms are at risk – and why Chancellor must act

The Lomond Hills Hotel first opened its doors in 1733, more than a decade before Culloden.

In the almost 300 years since it began welcoming guests as a coaching inn, the Freuchie hostelry has endured boom times and bust.

But now, finally, a “perfect storm” of financial headwinds has forced it to close its doors.

For the 17 staff immediately being made redundant it is a life-changing event. And for the community at large it is a considerable loss.

But it also says much about the current state of the hospitality sector more generally, and how close to the wind many SME businesses are sailing.

The current squeeze on disposable incomes, coming hot on the heels of the Covid pandemic and Brexit impacts, is making it incredibly difficult – and sometimes utterly impossible – for many businesses to make ends meet.

The 24-bedroom hotel in Freuchie, Cupar appointed Ken Pattullo and Kenny Craig of Begbies Traynor on March 6 as joint liquidators for the Highlander Hotel Ltd, which traded as Lomond Hills Hotel. https://t.co/aEhitf4ZS7

— Begbies Traynor Group (@BegbiesTrnGroup) March 14, 2023

Tomorrow, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt will reveal his spring Budget.

If further economic carnage is to be mitigated against, firms like the Lomond Hills Hotel should be at the forefront of his thinking as he finesses his Budget speech.