DEVONSHIRE PARK HOTEL

Did you invest in a hotel room at the Devonshire Park Hotel in Eastbourne?

Devonshire Park Hotel leaseholders are coordinating to recover their lost funds in a ‘No Win, No Fee’ group action claim.

If you purchased a unit in this hotel, please contact us at devonshirepark@catalystlitigation.co.uk for more information on how to reclaim the money you invested.

Published 29/07/26

What has happened at the Devonshire Park Hotel?

• Long leases of individual rooms in the hotel were sold by a network of sales agents with the promise of an “assured” 9% annual return for five years. The units were sold with a developer-controlled buyback option at 110% of the price paid at year five.

• Room investors stopped receiving their contractual returns in 2025.

• The hotel freeholder, Devonshire Park Hotel Holdings Ltd is now in administration. This company was incorporated in April 2024, shortly before the individual room leases were granted, and entered a formal insolvency process in May 2026.

• The administrators are now proposing to sell the hotel free of the individual room leases by the end of 2026. In practical terms, this will require leaseholders to surrender their leases.

• There will not be enough funds recovered through the administration to repay the full value of investors’ lost capital investments.

• Investors will therefore need to pursue other routes to recovery if they want to recoup additional compensation for their lost funds.

• What the administration means for investors

  The administrators have been working to understand how this investment scheme was structured, how it came to be that leases of rooms in the hotel were sold to individual investors and who the proceeds from the room sales were ultimately paid to.

  The administrators have indicated that they aim to sell the hotel with vacant possession (that is, free of the individual room leases) by the end of 2026 to maximise the sale value of the hotel freehold. Achieving this will require leaseholders to surrender their leases so that the hotel can be sold in an unencumbered state. This plan of action is therefore subject to the cooperation of the room leaseholders.

  The intention of this strategy is to maximise the available funds for the benefit of the company’s creditors. It is also sadly the case that any dividend ultimately paid to leaseholders through the insolvency process will not return the full amount of capital invested. This is because the collective investment paid by investors for their room leases will exceed the funds that can be raised by the sale of the hotel.

  It is too early to say how much will be returned to the investors but, based on the information we have seen, we estimate that it will be less than 50% of the sum invested.

• Why Devonshire Park investors should consider joining the group action legal claim

  Investors will be left with a substantial shortfall on their full investment from the company insolvency process, so they are coordinating together to recover funds via a legal claim in addition to cooperating with the administrators.

  The proposed legal claim is a professional negligence claim against investors’ former conveyancing solicitors.

  Broadly, this claim will be made on the basis that that the solicitors failed to adequately warn investors about the high-risk nature of this investment, which they had a professional responsibility to do.

  In our extensive experience assisting investors to recoup their losses in similar failed UK property investment schemes, we have found that a claim of this nature is the most reliable route for investors to recover compensation for their lost funds.
  
  Crucially, the group action claim can be pursued alongside the administration to recover the shortfall of investors’ losses. The two avenues to recovery are not mutually exclusive and protecting your position within the insolvency process does not prevent you from also participating in a legal claim against your former solicitors, who should have advised you fully on the risks of this investment.
  
  Investors in this scheme are currently in dialogue with respected, specialist solicitors who are willing to pursue this group claim on a ‘No Win, No Fee’ basis.

• Why investors should not wait for the insolvency process to conclude before joining the legal claim

  Company insolvency processes can be complicated and can often take significantly longer than originally intended or expected. Additionally, there are significant benefits to investors in joining together in a timely fashion to pursue a coordinated group action legal claim.

  The benefits of acting as a group

  
  Investors participating in a group action claim benefit from sharing legal costs and information.

  Additionally, a group claim carries far more weight than any single claim brought on its own.

  Claims of this nature are often not financially viable to bring individually. By acting together, legal costs and evidence can be shared between claimants, enabling a suitably experienced law firm to run the case on a contingent ‘No Win, No Fee’ basis.

Get in touch

Investors are stronger together

If you are considering pursuing a legal claim for your losses in this development, we strongly recommend that you make enquiries as soon as possible in order to coordinate your claim with the other investors in this development.

One of our panel solicitors can assess your eligibility to join the claim, free of charge and with no obligation to proceed.

Alternatively, you can also simply contact us to register your interest so that we can keep you informed of the deadline to sign up to this group claim.

• How Catalyst Litigation can assist investors to recover their lost funds

  Catalyst Litigation is an independent litigation management company based in London. Our team has over ten years’ experience helping hundreds of UK and international investors recover money lost in failed UK property schemes, including hotel-room and serviced-apartment developments like this one.

  We are not a firm of solicitors. We build and coordinate legal action groups, connecting investors with trusted specialist solicitors to run their claims. To date, we have helped recover tens of millions of pounds for investors in similar schemes.

• No Win, No Fee

  Catalyst Litigation and the solicitors we work with act on a ‘No Win, No Fee’ basis, so there is nothing to pay up front, and nothing to pay to us or your solicitor if your claim does not succeed.

Recover your lost funds

Join the group action claim

Frequently asked questions

• Is there anything I need to do?

  If you are not already in contact with the administrators of Devonshire Park Hotel Holdings Ltd, you should get in touch with them to register your interest in the property. Alternatively, our team can communicate with the administrators on your behalf if you would prefer at no cost to you.

  The administrators are BTG Begbies Traynor (London). Email: london@btguk.com. Address: Level 33, One Canada Square, London E14 5AB.

• Why is the claim against my solicitor, and not the hotel owner or operator?

  In our experience, a claim against your solicitor is the most reliable route to obtaining compensation for losses incurred in this type of failed property investment scheme. Solicitors in England and Wales are required to carry insurance, including for six years after a firm closes, that can pay compensation for a valid claim.

  You may also have grounds for complaint against the hotel owner, operator, or the investment sales agent. However, to make a recovery from those parties, they would need enough funds to pay out a successful claim. Litigation is expensive, and it is often not economical to claim against developers, management companies or sales agents that often have limited funds or assets left to claim against.

• Can I claim while the hotel is in administration and being sold?

  Yes. A professional negligence claim against your former solicitor is separate from the insolvency process and can be pursued alongside it. Because any dividend from the administration will almost certainly not cover the full value of your investment, the negligence claim is aimed at recovering the shortfall.

  Engaging with the administration to protect your position as a creditor does not prevent you from also making a claim.

• Will a claim affect my leasehold ownership of the room?

  No. A claim against your former solicitor does not affect your lease. You will keep it and remain free to deal with it as you wish.

  Please note however that individual hotel room leases can be very difficult to sell on, and the administrators’ current proposed sale of the hotel freehold is likely to require leaseholders to surrender their leases with their consent.

• How much could I claim?

  Broadly, the amount you invested, plus interest, less the residual value (if any) of your room. Your claim will also account for any dividend you may have received as a result of the insolvency process of Devonshire Park Hotel Holdings Ltd.

• Will I need to pay anything upfront?

  The solicitors we work with run claims on a “No Win, No Fee” basis, so there is nothing to pay upfront and you pay nothing unless your claim is successful.

  You are not committed to any cost at the investigation stage, and all charges will be set out clearly in writing before you commit to anything.

• What are the funding arrangements for the claim?

  Funding arrangements for claims like this can be complicated and care needs to be taken to avoid hidden costs. This is our area of expertise. We make sure that our clients are placed with suitable expert law firms on terms that are clear, straightforward and avoid any unexpected costs.

Recover your losses through group action

Get in touch at devonshirepark@catalystlitigation.co.uk, and our team will begin assessing whether you are eligible to join the group legal claim.