THE budget hotel opened by easyJet founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou has gone into administration – just a year after it opened in Glasgow.

Ernst & Young has been appointed joint administrators of Glasgow eH (Trading) the operator of easyHotel at the request of the company's director Ramsay Duff.

The 125-room £25-a-night easyHotel Glasgow City hotel on Hill Street will close with immediate effect with the loss of 16 jobs.

The hotel, converted from a 1970s office block, was called a "no-frills super budget" stopover for tourists and business people when it opened in April, last year.

It cost £6 million to convert Drummond House, above Italian restaurant Fazzi's.

Fiona Taylor of Ernst & Young said: "We are currently undertaking a full review of its financial position, but an immediate lack of funds has necessitated the closure of the hotel and the resultant job losses.

"Employees will be offered appropriate support and advice throughout the redundancy process. Steps are being taken to find guests alternative accommodation in Glasgow."

The administrators said the insolvency move does not affect its parent, Glasgow eH Limited Partnership, which owns the site of the former Drummond House, nor the wider easyHotel chain.