Spanish director washes his hands of Chesterfield Hotel

Malcolm Aw’s resignation from GS Trading VI (Chesterfield) Ltd comes after it emerged the abandoned Malkin Street building could be taken over by the Crown.

GS Trading VI (Chesterfield) Ltd has remained an active business since the well-known hotel closed on January 31, 2015, after nearly 140 years.

Mr Aw, of Adeje, Tenerife, became a director of the firm last March.

The 68-year-old told the Derbyshire Times he quit his role last week and wanted nothing more to do with the company.

He had intended to allow the prominent building to be used by organisations which help vulnerable people – but this never happened.

Mr Aw is also a director of Waterleau Plc, a London-based company which aims to provide an ‘inexhaustible supply of fresh and pure drinking water’.

GS Trading VI (Chesterfield) now has just one director – Daniel James O’Doherty. The 71-year-old is also the sole shareholder.

As reported last week, Companies House has written to the business warning it could be struck off and dissolved after it failed to file its accounts on time.

The letter states: “Upon dissolution all property and rights vested in, or held in trust for, the company are deemed to be bona vacantia and accordingly will belong to the Crown.”

However, Companies House has received an objection to the proposal to strike off and dissolve the firm – meaning action has been temporarily suspended but could still go ahead in the future.

According to Companies House, such an objection may be made if some form of action is being taken, or is pending, to recover any money owed.

Forty-five members of staff lost their jobs when Chesterfield Hotel shut and workers are currently going through the employment tribunal process over alleged unpaid wages and redundancy payouts.

Meanwhile, customers who were left hundreds of pounds out of pocket when the hotel’s leisure centre closed in 2014 are still wondering when – or if – they will be refunded.

Chesterfield Hotel opened in 1877 and was a major employer and social venue in the town over the years.

When it closed, town leaders and residents expressed their sadness at the demise of the much-loved institution which was one of Chesterfield’s longest-running businesses.

The exact reason for Chesterfield Hotel’s closure has never been revealed – but the town’s MP Toby Perkins held urgent talks with representatives from the company to discuss various financial problems before it shut.

The abandoned building is currently under constant security surveillance and boards cover a number of ground-floor windows which have been smashed by vandals.