THE iconic Feathers Hotel in Ludlow has gone into administration.

However, the hotel remains open for business.

Raj Mittal and Steve Stokes, partners at specialist business advisory firm FRP Advisory LLP, were appointed Joint Administrators to The Feathers Hotel in Ludlow on Thursday, August 2.

The hotel had suffered trading difficulties as the result of a legionnaires outbreak in 2017 and a subsequent investigation by Public Health England in the West Midlands and Shropshire.

A woman, from Liverpool, died following the incident.

The hotel, which employs 30 people, will remain open for business while options for its future are assessed. No redundancies have currently been made.

“The Feathers Hotel worked closely with Public Health England in the West Midlands and Shropshire to enable a staged reopening of the business,” said joint administrator Raj Mittal.

“Unfortunately, the impact of the initial closure and restricted trading conditions resulted in severe cash flow difficulties, which led to the Company entering administration.

“We’re now working closely with the directors to evaluate all routes forward for the business over the coming weeks.”

Elaine Brown passed away aged 69 at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital on Saturday, August 26, last year, after suffering a stroke after getting of Legionnaires’ disease, which emerged just days after she stayed at the hotel with her husband Graham on Monday, July 31, 2017 as part of a coach tour excursion.

The Feathers Hotel voluntarily closed after her death, and Public Health England released details of another case that emerged in April, 2017, whereby another guest had contracted the illness after staying at the same hotel.

Legionnaires disease is a form of pneumonia linked to bacteria in water systems. The disease takes its name from an incident in Philadelphia in 1976 that resulted in the death of 29 veterans and affected another 182 attending a convention.

The Feathers with its half-timbered frontage dates back to 1619.

It is also noted for its Jacobean furnishings.