Группа Blackfinch приобрела отель Dixie Dean в Ливерпуле за 3 млн фунтов после банкротства Signature Living

New owners of Liverpool's Dixie Dean Hotel named after £15.5m Signature Living group firm collapse The new owners of the Dixie Dean Hotel said it acquired the business late last year, and confirmed the "hotel remains open and trading" More than four years after Signature Eden entered into administration in 2022, and nine months after the business and its assets were sold off, the Liverpool ECHO can reveal the name of the Dixie Dean Hotel's new owners. Signature Eden was part of the wider Signature Living group (SL) of companies, one of the most recognisable and successful hotel and development businesses in Liverpool. Signature went on to create some of the city's most well known hotels, largely in restored historic buildings, and expanded into other property markets including deals to deliver office space, as well as making its mark in the hospitality sector. However, in 2020, everything changed, and a number of Signature's individual companies fell into administration. At the time, the wider group had appointed administrators, with creditors owed nearly £114m. Four years later, in February 2024, both Lawrence Kenwright and his wife Katie were declared bankrupt. On Tuesday (August 18), the Liverpool ECHO reported a significant update from the Insolvency Service as Mr Kenwright, the founder of the Signature empire, was banned as a company director until 2031. Mr Kenwright has been the director of almost 100 companies, including more than 60 under the Signature brand. In relation to the ruling, Kevin Read, chief investigator at the Insolvency Service, said: "Lawrence Kenwright's failures as a company director had serious consequences for investors, who suffered losses of more than £4.8m as a result of false and misleading marketing material. "While Kenwright is not accused of direct fraud, his conduct nevertheless falls well below the standards we expect of company directors." The ban represents a landmark moment in the career of Mr Kenwright, which has been chequered with controversy in recent years, and involved the collapse of property firms linked to the Signature Group, including Signature Eden which entered into administration on August 5, 2022. Signature Eden was behind the Dixie Dean Hotel on Victoria Street, one of the group's best known properties, and was themed around the Everton goal-scoring legend. When it opened in 2019, just opposite the Shankly Hotel, Mr Kenwright said he was aiming to create the city's first "football quarter". Documents published as part of the administration process revealed Signature Eden owed more than £15.5m to its creditors. The administration was managed by Robert Armstrong and Dave Riley of Kroll Advisory Ltd, who continued to operate the hotel. The administrators put the Signature Eden business - and its assets - up for sale as a going concern, and then accepted an offer of £3m from the first ranking secured creditor. An entity which was owed nearly £4.8m from the business, according to filings. The ECHO reported on the sale of the company's business and assets - including the Dixie Dean Hotel - which was completed to the purchaser on August 7, 2025. While the name of the purchaser of the hotel was not revealed in the administrator's report, it was said to be an associated entity of the 'secured creditor' involved. After examining the 'AM10: Notice of administrator's progress report' on Companies House, and cross-referencing figures relating to the sale of Signature Eden, the ECHO can now reveal the new owners of the Dixie Dean Hotel, a company called Lyell Trading Limited. Lyell Trading Limited is a Gloucester-based property development finance firm, which is effectively owned by Blackfinch Investments. According to its website, the company works with businesses that typically require finance for new build projects, redevelopments and major renovation works. The business was also noted as a major creditor of the firms behind Rainhill Hall and Preston's Shankly Hotel. Asked to confirm its ownership, and any plans it had for the Dixie Dean Hotel, a spokesperson for Blackfinch acknowledged it had acquired the hotel from administrators in late 2025, adding: "The hotel remains open and trading."