Administrators took over the Cumbria Grand's owner on 11 August. The Grange-over-Sands hotel is one of eight in a group that employed 415 at the last count.
The company that owns the Cumbria Grand Hotel in Grange-over-Sands has gone into administration. James Alexander Dewar and Alistair McAlinden of Interpath Advisory were appointed joint administrators of Strathmore Hotels Limited on 11 August 2026. (The Gazette, notice 5191450)
The hotel was still taking bookings when we checked on 18 August. Its own website carries the administrators’ notice at the foot of every page. (Cumbria Grand Hotel)
Administration is not closure. It is a legal process in which insolvency practitioners take control of a company, usually to try to rescue the business or sell it. The Cumbria Grand is the only one of the group’s eight hotels in the south Lakes.
The eight hotels in the group
Strathmore Hotels Limited lists these properties on its own website. (Strathmore Hotels)
- Cumbria Grand Hotel, Grange-over-Sands
- The Cairn Hotel, Harrogate
- The Alexandra Hotel, Fort William
- Ben Nevis Hotel and Leisure Club, Fort William
- Ben Wyvis Hotel, Strathpeffer
- Nethybridge Hotel, near Aviemore
- The Royal Hotel, Oban
- The Salutation Hotel, Perth
What the last audited accounts show
The most recent accounts the company has filed cover the year ended 31 December 2023. They were signed on 24 July 2025 and filed on 11 August 2025, more than 19 months after the year end. (Companies House, filing history)
Those accounts record:
- turnover of £19,188,027, up from £17,613,576 the year before
- profit before tax of £368,376, down from £751,132
- interest on bank overdrafts and loans of £861,545, up from £416,234
- interest cover down from 2.8 to 1.4
- bed occupancy of 63 per cent, against 62 per cent
- an average of 415 people employed across the year, 406 in the hotels and nine in administration, up from 376
- cash at bank and in hand of £19,649
The 415 figure is an average monthly headcount for 2023 and includes the directors. It is the company’s most recent published employment figure, not a count of who works there now.
The pattern in those numbers is a business selling more and keeping less. Turnover rose by about £1.6 million. The interest bill more than doubled in the same year, and swallowed most of the gain.
The auditor, Consilium Audit Limited, gave a clean opinion and reported no material uncertainty about the company continuing as a going concern. (Strathmore Hotels Limited, accounts for the year ended 31 December 2023)
A company already behind on its filings
Companies House records the company as In Administration, incorporated on 2 November 1990 and registered for hotels and similar accommodation. (Companies House, company SC128215)
Two filings are overdue. Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2024 were due on 31 December 2025 and have not been filed. A confirmation statement was due on 3 November 2025 and has not been filed either.
This is not the first time the register has flagged the company. A first Gazette notice for compulsory strike-off was issued on 5 March 2024. The action was suspended on 29 March 2024 and discontinued the following day, which is what normally happens when overdue documents are finally delivered.
Two filings have followed the appointment. The administrators’ appointment was registered on 13 August, and on 17 August the registered office moved from East Kilbride to the administrators’ Glasgow address at 130 St Vincent Street.
The hotel itself
The Cumbria Grand stands on Lindale Road in Grange-over-Sands, in 20 acres of private gardens and woodland overlooking Morecambe Bay. Its own history page says it was built in 1880 by the railway company as the Hazelwood Hydro, was later known as the Golf Hotel, and served as an RAF officers’ training centre during the Second World War. (Cumbria Grand Hotel, the hotel)
It holds the top food hygiene rating of 5, awarded at an inspection on 12 April 2026. (Food Standards Agency, FHRS 328696)
The hotel is one of the larger employers and one of the biggest visitor bedstocks on this side of the district, and Grange-over-Sands is among the places worth a day out from Kendal.
What it means for you
If you have a booking. The hotel was still selling rooms on 18 August, and the administrators are running the business. Nothing on the company’s own websites says bookings are cancelled. If that changes, Citizens Advice sets out what to do when a company you have paid stops trading, including chargeback and section 75 claims through your card provider. (Citizens Advice)
If the company owes you money. Suppliers, customers and staff are all creditors. The Gazette notice gives the administrators’ contact as Sarah Coyne on 0141 648 4334 or strathmorecreditors@interpath.com.
If you work there. The administrators now control the company’s affairs and contract as its agents. Questions about pay, hours and jobs go to them, at the contact above, not to the previous management.
What we do not yet know. The public record so far is the appointment and nothing more. Administrators must file a statement of proposals at Companies House, normally within eight weeks of appointment, setting out what they intend to do with the business and what creditors are likely to recover. That document is the next thing worth reading, and we will report it when it appears on the register.
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