Wedding venue's regret after sudden closure

Hemswell Court, near Gainsborough, closed with "immediate effect" on 23 October

The directors of a luxury wedding venue have expressed their regret following its sudden closure last month.

Hemswell Court, near Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, closed with "immediate effect" on 23 October, leaving staff jobless and couples scrambling to find alternative venues.

The business cited challenging trading conditions since the pandemic, compounded by ill health, as well as the unexpected passing of a member of the board of directors.

As a result, the company said it could "no longer continue to trade" and would enter liquidation on 26 November.

Cordelia Sheridan and her fiancé Adam Cieslak-Jones have had to switch venues following the closure of Hemswell Court

Cordelia Sheridan and Adam Cieslak-Jones, from London, were due to host their wedding reception at Hemswell Court in May for 120 guests and had paid £1,000 deposit.

Ms Sheridan, who is originally from Grimsby, said she was notified of the closure by email.

"At the minute, they have given us an email to contact. Things are up in the air for us," she told BBC Radio Lincolnshire.

Ms Sheridan described receiving the email as "the stuff of wedding nightmares".

She said: "I sat in silence and then messaged my boss to say, 'I need a bit of time to sort this out'.

"My boss was lovely, and I'm in a team of three people, all of whom have got engaged recently, so they understood."

The couple, who have now booked the Petwood Hotel in Woodhall Spa, praised the Hemswell Court staff and said she was sure they would have done "everything possible" to save the business.

'Regret and sadness'

Hemswell Court Limited said "unfortunate circumstances" had led to the closure of the business.

In a statement, the directors of the company also expressed "regret and sadness" at the situation and a formal notification from liquidators, Gareth David Rusling and Philip David Nunney, would be issued by post.

Customers have been told they have an "unsecured claim" in respect of any monies paid as the company was not in a financial position to offer a refund.

However, customers may be entitled to their money back under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act, the liquidators said.

Staff would also be supported throughout the process in order to claim redundancy entitlement through the Redundancy Payments Office.

Eddisons, in Scunthorpe, are acting on behalf of the proposed joint liquidators, and are inviting expressions of interest from anyone wanting to take over the operations at Hemswell Court and honour existing bookings.

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