Doors shut on Swan Reach Hotel
The Swan Reach Hotel has closed, after the company that was leasing the building and running the business went into voluntary administration.
Administrator Clifton Hall was appointed to handle the company's finances on Monday.
It says the hotel has been losing money for the past 18 months and could no longer operate.
Tim Clifton says it will place the company into liquidation, which will terminate its lease with the hotel's owner.
Mr Clifton says it is still working out the company's financial position.
"The leaseholder's company has got assets that will need to be dealt with, it'll have some stock for instance that'll need to be accounted for and collected and sold and then those proceeds will get distributed to the creditors," he said.
However, Mr Clifton says plans are already underway to reopen the hotel.
"The owner is now making plans to re-establish the hotel in terms of getting his own licences in place ... there's a few things they have to do, they have to get licences and get things transferred to his name and I think they're planning on reopening pretty soon," he said.
Country music festival
Organisers of the Swan Reach Country Music Festival say the event will go ahead as planned this weekend, despite the hotel's closure.
The Swan Reach Progress Association is holding the festival to promote the region and to raise money to upgrade the town hall.
The Mid Murray Council's tourism operator Deb Alexander says a number of visitors, including the festival's performers, were booked in to stay at the Swan Reach Hotel for the three-day event.
She says while the timing of the hotel's closure is not ideal, it has managed to find a solution.
"From the festival's point of view, it couldn't have happened at a worse time but the festival will go on and we've got the paddle-steamer Marion there this weekend and that'll be helping us with some accommodation difficulties that we are facing with the hotel closing down," she said.
She says the festival is an important event for the local community.
"To have any event has all the work attached to it, no matter whether it's big or small, but for Swan Reach with a population of 400, so many people are involved in this event and it brings community pride to know that they are trying to publicise their township, retain the business in their township and attract new business as well," she said.
The festival will begin at the Swan Reach Oval tonight.
Source: ABC News, 26 April 2013
