NEARLY 30 staff at The Madison Hotel will finish their final shift at the hotel on Sunday as the keys are handed over to the new owners.

It was revealed last month the hotel would be closing down after its London owners Mountain Capital agreed to sell it to an unnamed developer.

Initial information suggested the hotel’s final day of trading would be tomorrow, but Licensed Solutions, the asset managers in charge of the hotel, backtracked.

A wedding being held there this Saturday has prolonged the life of the business and it will now close down on Sunday night, with staff already in the midst of workshops with employment and training services.

Jill Annal, of Job Centre Plus in Swindon, said her colleagues specialising in mass redundancies, had been called in to assist the outgoing workers.

She also said TCV Employment & Training Services had been hired by the Job Centre to deliver support services to staff at the hotel.

Andrea Gostling, operations manager at TCV, said: “Staff are likely to be dealing with shock, worry, financial worries more than anything.

“We go through the whole range of emotions. We try to work with the individual and address any need they might have.

“We might signpost them to other organisations where they can receive more specialist help if they need, or if we don’t have the level of expertise necessary.”

Mrs Annal said she was aware of 28 people due to be made redundant as of Sunday. Staff were told their futures on Monday, May 26.

One member of staff, who did not wish to be identified, said it had been emotional for people who had worked there for longer than 10 years in some cases.

“It’s really sad. A lot of people have many memories from working here,” they said.

“We’re not sure what’s going to happen to the site, but we are assuming it will be made part of the retail park.

“We have had people coming in from the Job Centre to help us with workshops.

“We have a wedding due to come in on Saturday. They will have their day, spend the night, have breakfast and that will be that.

“We will start clearing up for the last time.”

Ms Gostling said there was a good chance all of those leaving the business would find work elsewhere quickly.

“There’s a high chance they will move into the market quite quickly. There are a lot of opportunities out there at the moment,” she said.