Hotel group Dalata has today announced it is to open two new sites in Manchester and Brighton.
Announcing its half-year results on Monday, which included pre-tax losses of over £70m, the Irish firm, which operates the Maldron brand, announced it has signed agreements to lease hotels in "prime areas" of the two cities.
The Manchester branch would join the Clayton hotel airport-based site, with another £47m facility already under development on Charles Street.
A public consultation is also underway for a 4* hotel on Chapel Street operated by Dalata.
The results showed turnover at £80.8m - the same figure as last year, while the pre-tax loss of £70.9m compared to last year's £37.8m profit.
Despite that, the group said its financial position remains "robust", with cash resources of €110m and asset-backed balance sheet of €1.2bn.
Pat McCann, Dalata group CEO said: “I am delighted to welcome guests again to our hotels, all of which have now re-opened to the public. In over 50 years of working in this industry, I never previously had to close a hotel.
"The impact of the pandemic has been felt by all of the Dalata team since early March. However, I have been greatly heartened by the positive reaction of all of our people.
"We remain focused on protecting the business, our people and our financial strength as we position the business for a successful recovery and to look for growth opportunities that may arise out of the crisis."
He added: "Our key strengths continue to be our culture and people, our asset backed balance sheet, our strong liquidity position, our experienced management team and our record of identifying and securing opportunities in a crisis.
"There are many challenges ahead but the Dalata team has demonstrated that it is up for those challenges and determined to emerge stronger from the impacts of Covid-19."
