The Fleece Hotel to close down in September

The historic Fleece Hotel in Richmond, North Yorkshire, has recently announced it will close down on 1 September. In an official announcement, Chris Miles, co-owner of the 13-room hotel, cited “unrelenting chronic staffing issues and ever-increasing costs” as the factors to blame for the decision to close. The hotel’s 42-cover restaurant as well as the 30-seat café bar, have already ceased to operate on 30 July. Before reopening in 2018, the Fleece had undergone a £3m renovation, which included the creation of six residential properties. Miles said: “Whilst I do not want to appear bitter (although I am a little to be honest!), it is imperative that our Government take action to provide much needed support to businesses like the Fleece. “We do not need a hand-out but we must be able to keep more of the money we generate. Since opening in May 2019, in addition to the increasing costs we have had to contend with, the Fleece has paid c. £350k to HMRC in VAT and a further £100k in Employer National Insurance and Business Rates. That figure would have been higher had it not been for the temporary VAT reduction in 2020-22.” Miles continued: “It is an enormous burden for a fifth of our income to be taken in VAT in addition to the other taxes we pay before any profit is made. We simply do not have the luxury of passing the 20% VAT cost onto our customers and this decimates our profit margins. We need our Government to recognise this and to help us.” Miles said that the hotel had not “gone bust” but that he chose to close down to ensure “that we can do it on our terms and in an orderly way”, so that all employees, suppliers and creditors can be paid on time.