Perthshire’s world famous Gleneagles Hotel saw its sales rise by nearly £50 million in the past year according to newly published accounts.
The luxury five-star golf and leisure resort near Auchterarder was closed to visitors for eight months over the financial year ending March 31, 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic and its annual turnover dipped to £19.7 million as a result.
The business also recorded a pre-tax loss of £9m that year after only being allowed to welcome guests between July 15 and November 13 in 2020 because of restrictions imposed on hospitality.
However, management have since reported sales totalling almost £69m for the financial period ending March 31 this year in their latest audited accounts filed with Companies House.
The accounts show the business, which employs over 1000 people, also returned to making a profit this year with a pre-tax profit worked out to be just over £7m.
“The year to March 2022 still felt the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic,” managing director Conor O’Leary wrote in a strategic report accompanying the accounts.
“The Gleneagles Hotel did not open until April 26, 2021 and operated under numerous restrictions for the first month.
“However, the business performed well over the period, benefitting from the increased demand from guests around the UK and the ‘staycation’ market.
“Our multi-million pound refurbishment programme at Gleneagles continued with a comprehensive update of the Gleneagles Spa in the prior year as well as a refresh of the Birnam restaurant in the current year.
“The purchase of the British School of Falconry Ltd business on April 1, 2021 will allow us to further develop our outdoor activity product and to further enhance Gleneagles’ position as a ‘Glorious Playground’ at the heart of the Scottish countryside.”
Moving on to discuss his outlook for the future Mr O’Leary continued: “Since March 2021, the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the hospitality sector has steadily declined. The personal leisure travel market has rebounded as both individuals and businesses are looking to travel and make up for lost time.
“Availability of staff continues to be a challenge, but changes to our approach to staff recruitment and management (including a review of our pay and benefits) has eased the pressure when compared to the last financial year ended March 31, 2021.
“The directors continue to monitor the economic environment and the impact of factors such as the war in Ukraine.”
