Will the banks support hotels through the winter or call in the receivers?

For the last 12 to 15 months I've been searching for a small (up to 60 bedrooms) hotel to purchase ideally in the south east or midlands. During this time I viewed numerous properties which for the most part have been over valued, in a poor state of repair & under traded. Some of these properties have been on the open market for the entire time I've been looking and despite prices dropping do not seem to be getting any real interest from purchasers or if they are there is a lack of available finance.

In a conversation I had the other day with a respected  property agent he mentioned that he believed this winter was going to be a really difficult time for a lot of these businesses as well as many more which have seen sales revenue continuing to decline in 2009 and is showing very little sign of improving in 2010.

The question is what will the bankers do about supporting viable businesses  who are going through a tough winter?

Will they support them at a time when the media is focusing more on bankers bonuses rather than on what they are doing to help small and medium businesses?

Only time will provide the answers but don't be suprised to see a lot more hotels and other hospitality businesses going into administration in the coming months especially as so many are now suffering from inflated rentals due to the high valuations and the number of sale and leaseback deals during the last few years.

I see in the last couple of weeks Merchant Inns and Elizabeth Hotels have both gone into administration. More will surely follow unless the banks show some support!