‘Cash constraints’: Birch Selsdon remains open, operated by administrators
Our business correspondent, ROBERT PESTER, reports on how Croydon’s poshest, hippest hotel with ‘a snag list as long as a novel’ has crashed and burned within six months of reopening
Basic chic: Birch’s ‘luxury’ suites were criticised – some lacked furniture and anywhere for guests to store clothes
Ambitious plans for a pricy members’ club, Michelin-style restaurants and a golf course re-wilded and turned over to nature at the top of Selsdon Hill could be abandoned after the company behind the restyled Birch hotel called in the administrators.
Birch Selsdon was the second of two lifestyle hotels opened by management company Performance Hotels and Aprirose, a real estate investment company.
Birch’s Selsdon business has been open for barely six months, but is now seeking new owners with very deep pockets to keep the place trading. Many of the casual staff at the £220 per night hotel have already been let go.
Aprirose bought the De Vere Theobalds Estate Hotel in Cheshunt in 2018, and – despite the problems of the pandemic for the hospitality industry – they took over the De Vere Selsdon Estate in another multi-million-pound deal in 2021.
The former Selsdon Park Hotel’s golfers sipped their last G&Ts at the 19th hole at the end of that year, as the place was closed for multi-million-pound renovations to the 180-room hotel.
Works lasted well into 2023, when a “Shoreditch shabby chic” lifestyle venue was opened, offering memberships for a mere £150 per month (plus a 300-quid joining fee, if you were approved as being hip enough), plus a couple of top-end restaurants overlooking the hotel’s rolling 200 acres of grounds, where pigs, cattle and ponies were to be introduced to rootle through the undergrowth.
But behind the scenes, there were clearly problems, and cashflow issues. The Birch founder, entrepreneur Chris King, quit the business earlier this year, even before the Selsdon site had opened.
According to a report by The Caterer, the property ran into difficulty due to “cash constraints”. Last Friday, Birch Selsdon was placed into administration by Milan Vuceljic and Andrew Pear of Moorfields Advisory. The venue remains open for customers while the administrators seek a buyer.
No expense spared: the lavish PR photos for Birch Selsdon belied the shabbiness of the hotel’s finish. Not all rooms even had a bath
A statement on the website reads: “The affairs, business and property of the company are being managed by the joint administrators.”
It was just a fortnight ago that Develop Croydon was boasting how Birch Selsdon’s posh hotel was one of its new members, doubtless with an eye on a snouts-in-the-trough Christmas shin-dig around the new lido, with some fizz and 14-quid-a-plate nibbles for the borough’s property speculators and landlords.
The conversations at such a party might take a decidedly different tone now.
Things are even gloomier at the other Birch hotel in Hertfordshire.
A statement on the Birch Cheshunt website reads: “We deeply regret to inform you that the owners of Birch Cheshunt Theobalds Park Op Co have placed the business into administration and the administrators Teneo are closing the hotel with immediate effect.
“We are very sad to share this disappointing news and apologise for the obvious distress and disruption to our members, guests, suppliers and the great employees.”
Cheshunt has 140 rooms as well as its own farm, three bars, 20 event spaces, a bakery, fitness studios and screening rooms.
Overseeing the Cheshunt restaurants was chef Robin Gill who on Tuesday posted on Insta that his team had to “down tools with immediate effect yesterday”.
Exclusive clientele: Birch’s chef, Lee Westcott, was highly praised for the venue’s food
Gill wrote: “I believe this is strictly a financial hit due to a lack of funds required for reinvestment into the sites that was needed to bring the properties up to standard.”
Gill said that he assumed that the hotel is “…now up for sale at a fraction of what the owners would have liked to sell it for and needs some love from investors with vision and passion to get it to where it needs, and deserves to be”.
It is not known how many members Birch Selsdon had signed up in the few months it has been open. Many will now be expecting refunds.
The Caterer quoted a Selson member: “The gardener is on reception and they have let go of all the zero-hours people. The lido is shut too. The animals are going back and we are told they will know by Friday exactly what is happening.”
Administrator Vuceljic said: “The Birch hotel group had a unique market proposition, which fitted with today’s health and well-being culture whilst still boasting a Greater London location.
“We are currently continuing to trade the hotel whilst we explore various options, which we believe provides a good opportunity for potential purchasers.”
It was clear from some savage reviews on TripAdvisor that corners had been cut and that Birch Selsdon had opened when not properly finished.
“Terrible service, place is trying too hard to be something it really is not,” wrote one disappointed customer after a visit to Selsdon earlier this month. Other complaints have included small rooms, no carpets, dirty bathrooms, no furniture and dodgy electric fittings.
This visitor’s comment about “bad service in restaurant” was validated by a recent review by The Observer’s highly regarded critic, Jay Rayner.
UnDevelop Croydon: Croydon’s piss-poor PR agency Grey Label and the property speculators at Develop Croydon might need to find a new venue for their Christmas piss-up
Rayner was very complimentary about the food, from kitchens run by chef Lee Westcott: “The terrific cooking here seriously deserves a tidier, snazzier setting.”
But he was less impressed by the under-trained waiting staff and the general feel of the place. Rayner had gone for a meal in the Vervain restaurant with his wife and their builder (don’t ask). “For all the breathless talk of the facilities – the outdoor pool, the ‘wellness space’, the kid-friendly wing – Birch feels very much like a work in progress.
“My wife, Pat, comes back from the ladies with photos of a knackered old-school public convenience in desperate need of care. Our builder… returns from the men’s, rolling his eyes at the shoddy silicon sealant work. I take a look. He’s not wrong. You could peel it from the tiling like fishy lumps of Copydex off your hands.
“They must have a snag list as long as a novel.”
And Rayner added, rather kindly, “I really hope they get it sorted soon.”
Which now seems like wishful thinking.
Read more: Lots of reservations after Selsdon hotel and golf course close
Read more: Get orf moy laaand! Posh hotel declares parkland a no-go zone
Read more: Selsdon Park’s golfing paradise looks lost under new owners
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Really not surprised. I had a look before it opened. Will be a great venue in the right hands if they drop the pretentious nonsence.
Think they got their pitch all wrong. Was it a private country club for ageing (and wealthy) hipsters? Or did they want people to come in and spend their hard-earned in their bars and restaurants?
In a very short space of time, they’d managed to alienate some residents and residents’ associations, ramblers and dog walkers, and they turned their back on the steady, regular income that the golf course used to generate.
When the Birch people moved in, there were concerns aired that some part of the site might get developed into housing (subject to all the usual Green Belt restrictions).
Those fears are probably more valid today than ever before.
I’m not surprised at this at all – I found the whole venue dirty with rude unwelcome staff. Shame they ruined a beautiful building & surroundings. Bring back the old Selsdon with great old fastioned hospitality
Really surprised at some of the comments, my wife and I became members when Birch opened, all the staff have been friendly and welcoming and we have enjoyed a lot of very nice meals, used the gym extensively and felt it a huge improvement on the old Selsdon Park Hotel. While certain parts were a little tired I cannot agree that it was ever dirty.
Did you stay in any of the hotel rooms, Roy?
In fairness the old Selsdon traded for a lot longer than this group!! When i visited I couldn’t even get a coffee in the day & lots of signs up saying STOP 🛑 TURN BACK IF YOU’RE NOT A MEMBER. Maybe if they had welcomed more people they could have made some money. Only my thoughts after working at the old Selsdon for 20 years…
I was a member since September and loved it. Yea, some restaurant staff were from the agencies and inexperienced, but there were also the best mixologists and hospitality staff I’d ever seen. Michelin quality food at relatively reasonable prices, and a really welcoming atmosphere. Definitely the most down to earth members club I’d been to, and quite a few areas open to the public to try. I’m so sad this is closing. I wish more was done to give it a real chance.
There are two facts you need to know about Croydon:
1 If your business is in any way novel, innovative or different there will be an initial brief flash of enthusiasm. Then it will fail.
2 if your business is conventional and not innovative or different there will be an initial brief flash of enthusiasm. Then it will fail.
Such cynicism in someone so young…
Occasionally my naive cynicism yields to the hardline reactions of those older and more experienced in our digital community.
I joined the venue as soon as it opened and it is far from being overpriced or badly pitched… It’s pitched exactly right – city workers who split time between London and wfh, looking for an alternative for themselves and their families, with a great, affordable gym, kids clubs and activities.
There is nothing like it in the area and it is extremely welcome by a large segment of Croydon.
Comparable sites run to much higher costs, for far fewer amenities and by large conglomerates that take away from smaller business. A rate check at the closest David Lloyd suggests it would be £220 a month for spa membership vs £150 for Birch.
I use the well equipped laid back gym and classes weekly – cheaper sites would be £40 and crowded – the workspace is the perfect antidote to wfh (and cheaper than running heating all day) and twice weekly visits to the lido are cheaper and more enjoyable that the municipal pool for a family of four (£20ish a pop for two adults and kids at waddon). On top, the grounds are expansive and beautiful, the food excellent – with comparable prices to lower-priced options in the city.
As a result, my wife and I dine there instead of going into town – keeps sitter costs down and we are more likely to stay out later.
Are there problems? Yes – there is a snagging list, but the venue is open about it. It’s very much a work in progress, but it is in progress. All hospitality venues have major issues in the first year, and I think a project as ambitious as this is doing better than most at keeping customers and colleagues satisfied. And the food – the core of the restaurant – has been brilliantly considered.
Yes, staff training isn’t there yet but it will improve as the venue gets established and builds a reputation – this is a problem all of Croydon suffers. I’ve worked in hospitality ventures in Croydon and the proximity to London means that ambitious staff will gravitate toward the city. Without ventures like Birch, this trend will continue.
I hope this site is rescued and continues to provide the much needed investment Croydon deserves. I truly hope you support such businesses, attempts to make Croydon great should be encouraged.
“it is extremely welcome by a large segment of Croydon”.
How many memberships had been sold?
And anonymous posts are not permitted on this website.
No idea.
It’s doing well on the members front. Over 700 of us. Not bad since it only launched in May but membership is only part of the business model. Agree with everything Graeme said above. Food is great, grounds beautiful, gym and coworking are brilliant and great value (look at other co-working sites prices). Staff are friendly. Good mix of people and not stuffy at all. Yes the service can be a little slow and there are definitely snags but the members will be gutted if it shuts.
It was a great concept and vision, rushed over the line and let down by the management team who left before Selsdon opened. I am a member and it has been a transformative space for our family, from co-working, to wellness classes, to access to nature and a safe space, for me as a woman, to walk on my own and not worry about violent crime as I do in so many other places! I really hope they find a buyer – there are a lot of brilliant staff there who are really dedicated to the community and I would rather see acres of wonderful wildflowers meadows and nature than another landscaped golf course of which we have enough already.
On Friday 28th of July we, a group of 5 adults and 2 children, visited the Birch in Selsdon for a late breakfast. My coffee was served in a tea cup, the tiny jug for milk was chipped, the table napkin had a large brown spot, and the hash brown was oily and soggy. I sent them an email complaining.
The communication was acknowleged . . . but I never heard from the team at Vervain.
The waitress was friendly.
Such a shame no reporter ever asked the staff what it was like to work at Birch Selsdon. If they had, they would have found a catalogue of bullying, humiliation and absolute discrimination especially to those non English workers. The staff had to work long hours – sometimes 10 hrs, often with no break! Add to that the extreme bad management and thank goodness it will be changing. How do I know all this? I have a now ex staff member living with me…..
Lets face it. This site is on a journey as PR people put it. Into residential property land.
Apparently the Administrators are closing the site at midnight on 29/11/2023, a communication went out to members today (28/11).