Liquidators appointed after Nottingham Castle closes

Little is left of the original castle, with the gatehouse being mainly a Victorian restoration

Liquidators have been appointed to the trust that ran Nottingham Castle after the attraction closed to visitors.

The castle trust announced it was going into liquidation on 21 November - 18 months after the castle reopened following a £30m revamp.

In a statement, Nottingham Castle Trust said it was "saddened and hugely disappointed" to be closing.

The liquidators said no refunds would be available for advance tickets, annual passes or booked events.

Tim Bateson and Chris Pole from Interpath Advisory have been appointed as joint liquidators for the trust and Nottingham Castle Services Limited, which ran all non-charitable operations at the site.

All of the trust's staff have now been made redundant.

The castle had been trying to secure further investment before its closure but talks were unsuccessful, the liquidators said.

Visitor numbers had taken a hit following the recent renovation of the site, which placed pressure on cashflow, they added.

As well as the castle building, caves beneath the castle rock were also restored

The castle is now back under the control of Nottingham City Council.

Mr Bateson said: "We will be working proactively with them [the council] over the coming weeks to ensure that there is a smooth handover to give them the best possible chance of being able to reopen the castle at the appropriate time.

"We will also be providing support and assistance to the employees to enable them to claim any outstanding statutory entitlements which they are due, as well as working to realise the remaining assets."

The liquidators confirmed no refunds would be made available, but those who have advance tickets, annual passes or booked events should notify them of what they are owed by writing to [e-mail].

The liquidators said the majority of trust employees were made redundant before their appointment, with the remainder made redundant with effect from 30 November

Nottingham Castle timeline

• February 2010: Sheriff's commission puts forward idea of £25m medieval village attraction. It fails to attract sufficient investment

• December 2012: New redevelopment plans submitted to Heritage Lottery Fund

• May 2013: Bid for lottery funding rejected

• May 2014: New funding bid passes initial approval

• April 2016: Plans for £24m revamp unveiled

• November 2016: A total of £14m of lottery backing for the £30m project is confirmed

• July 2018: The castle closes with promises of a "world class attraction"

• June 2021: The castle reopens with a visitor target of 300,000 annually

• August 2021: Exhibition curator Panya Banjoko criticises the handling of her complaint about alleged racist abuse in the castle grounds

• August 2021: Trust CEO Sara Blair-Manning leaves her post

• October 2021: Ms Blair-Manning makes allegations of bullying. The case is ongoing

• November 2021: Staff write an open letter criticising the castle trust's handling of an alleged incident of racist abuse

• December 2021: Interim CEO Robin Bischert leaves his post, several months earlier than planned

• January: The Charity Commission issues "formal advice" to trust over its handling of the alleged racist incident

• February: The castle sees its 100,000th visitor since reopening

• March: Staff call for the trustees to step down

• March: An independent investigation backs Ms Banjoko. The trust says "significant lessons" have been learned

• September: The chair of Nottingham Castle Trust, Ted Cantle, steps down