NEARLY £1m was owed by a Bournemouth hotel before it ceased trading earlier this year, documents show. 

The Trouville Hotel in Priory Road, West Cliff, closed last month after its parent company Meridian Hotel Group ceased trading. 

Joint liquidators Matthew Hoy and Shane Bibblecombe, of Southampton-based Trusolv, were brought in to wind up the company. 

A statement of affairs submitted to Companies House has revealed Meridian Hotel Group went bust owing £919,187.

Bournemouth Echo: The Trouville Hotel has closed after the Meridian Hotel Group Ltd has ceased trade.

Meanwhile, a string of businesses and agencies are listed as creditors owed money. 

Many of the 85 creditors listed are Dorset-based including AFC Bournemouth, owed £2,100, BCP Council’s financial services, which is owed £26,000 and Bournemouth-based AQB Leisure, owed £90,000. 

A total of 43 people were employed by the firm and, in total, are all owed £108,000 - £73,000 of which is unsecured, non-preferential. 

As well as this, the statement of affairs shows £130,000 is owed to HMRC PAYE and £185,000 is owed to HMRC through VAT. 

Booking.com is owed £5,600, Expedia is owed £10,000 and TV Licensing is owed more than £2,300. 

However, the liquidators believe just £6,801 could be realised from the sale of assets.

Meridian Hotel Group ceased trading on January 1 and a sign was shortly placed outside the hotel alerting guests to the closure. 

It said: “Regrettably any accommodation booked cannot be honoured and the hotel has been closed for the foreseeable future.” 

The notice went on to state that customers who might have expected to stay in the hotel should contact their booking agent or bank and inform them the hotel has entered administration. 

ABQ Leisure were granted planning permission to demolish the hotel and replace it with a six-storey block of 10 holiday flats and 35 residential flats back in 2022. 

In the plans for the flats, the hotel stated that the viability of the site as a hotel was in decline.

It said: “The hotel currently provides bed and breakfast accommodation with 19 bedrooms.

"Despite investment, occupancy rates have declined year-on-year and room rates have subsequently been reduced to assist booking numbers.

“Maintenance costs for the upkeep of the building have increased and without continued uptake or financial reinvestment, the condition of the building will degrade to the detriment of the area.”

The hotel was described as a “family and pet-friendly hotel in the heart of Bournemouth filled with warmth, character and decades of memories”.