Britannia Hotels' sales jumped to more than £120m and achieved another year of significant profits despite being named the UK's worst hotel chain for the eighth year in a row.
Cheshire-headquartered Britannia, which has more than 60 hotels across the UK including Liverpool city centre's Adelphi and Scarisbrick Hotel in Southport, has posted a turnover of £120.4m for the 12 months to March 31, 2020, up from £115.4m.
Newly filed documents with Companies House also confirmed that its pre-tax profits went from £19.3m to £13.7m over the same period.
The business added that it is "likely" that it will post a loss for its year to March 31, 2021.
A statement signed off by the board said: "Sales show growth of 4% (2019: 19%) for the year. This represents a creditable performance during a period of difficult trading conditions throughout the economy.
"The directors recognise that the environment of increased competition in the UK hotel industry has placed additional demands on the business.
"To sustain and enhance our position in the market we have endeavoured to improve the standard of our product both in terms of facilities and levels of service.
"The directors recognise that economic conditions in the short term are likely to put strains upon the business and have carefully considered the availability of working capital and likely levels of trading over the next 12 months.
"They are confident that the business is well placed to meet the challenges including the uncertain outcome of Brexit and the restrictions placed on the industry by the Covid-19 pandemic."
The results come after the "truly appalling" hotel chain was criticised in the House of Commons in December 2020 for causing "untold damage" to communities after being named the UK's worst for an eighth year running.
The company, which also owns the Pontins brand, received the unwanted accolade when it was the only company to receive one star out of five for cleanliness in a survey by consumer group Which? of more than 4,000 people.
Despite being one of the UK's cheapest chains, with rooms costing an average of £58 per night, guests still only gave Britannia one star for value for money.
One customer said a hotel was a "filthy hovel", while another claimed it was "by far the dirtiest hotel room I have ever stayed in".
Britannia received an overall customer score of 37%, putting it in last place.
Following the Which? survey, the chain said in a statement at the time: "We are totally committed to providing a safe environment for visitors.
"We have so far spent around £2m on Covid-19 precautions, but we accept there is more to do."
