Hmmm are you sure. A number of companies, each with no little commercial nous, have tried and failed to make a going concern of it over the years, hence its recent closure. Hotels, like pubs, are very difficult to make money out of nowadays and they require regular investment to maintain their quality. I don't think that anyone will be rushing to buy this.
(Nor do I think the RFL should touch it with a barge pole.)
The companies that had run it clearly didnt have that much commercial nous since they have all gone belly up.
It might be the George is a commercial venture but the rest of the chain has dragged it under.
However from my observations the companies running it have failed on several key areas:
1. Under investment - decor and services have become dated and worn without replacement, visitors immediately become aware that the hotel has seen better days
2. Price: Ties into 1 slightly but they thought it was a 4* hotel and charged accordingly. Sad fact is the lack of investment meant it wasn't close to that and in my experience neither was the service but they charged a lot to stay there when very close are a dozen hotels with better facilities and lower rates
3. Poor marketing: the George hotel has an utterly unique selling point, yet was it ever involved in sports tours, packages for visiting fans? Accommodation for international touring parties? No. They had something utterly unique and failed to sell it.
Somebody could make the George work very well. I very much doubt it's going to be a chain of hotels no one has heard of though
