The housing of asylum seekers at a controversial hotel in Epping was a 'financial lifeline' for its owners, a court has heard.
The Bell Hotel has been targeted by spate of anti-immigration protests after one of its residents was charged with the sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl last month.
Epping Forest District Council is now seeking an injunction from the High Court against its owners, Somani Hotels Ltd, to stop migrants being housed there.
Barristers representing the company claimed at the High Court on Friday that the ending of the building's use an asylum hotel would cause 'financial harm'.
Piers Riley-Smith told the court that migrants were a monetary 'lifeline' for the hotel, which was only one per cent full in August 2022, when it was open to paying customers.
