ADMINISTRATORS have refused to comment on claims an Aberystwyth businessman is hoping to buy the town’s iconic Victorian pier.

Birmingham administrators Begbies Traynor have been trying to sell Aberystwyth’s pier since March this year when owners, Don Leisure Ltd, were forced to call them in with debts amounting to just under £2.5m, including £1m owed to Barclays Bank and £240,000 owed to the tax man.

In July, an asking price of £1.75m was set for the 150-year-old pier, with adverts appearing in the Financial Time among other publications.

The Cambrian News now understands that Vince Morgans, owner of the Park Lodge and Belle Vue hotels, is one of several business people vying to buy the pier and will do so, subject to a structural survey.

A structural survey was carried out by Afan Construction following the January 2014 storms which caused extensive damage to Aberystwyth’s promenade, and remedial works to repair damaged diagonal braces was completed straight away.

The news comes after it was reported in the Cambrian News in November that an auditor’s report by administrators revealed the pier had made a profit of just under £330,000 in the six months from April to September, with sales amounting to £1.3m.

But administrator John Kelly and Mr Morgans have remained tight-lipped over the claims that Mr Morgans has been accepted as the potential new owner, with neither offering comment to the Cambrian News.See this week's south editions for the full story, in shops now or online by clicking the Digital Editions tab at the top of the page