CHARDON Trading, the hotel company founded by Scottish hospitality veteran Maurice Taylor, has cited a huge spike in visitors from the US, driven by sterling’s weakness since the Brexit vote, as it hiked profits by nearly 30 per cent to £3.2 million.
New accounts for Chardon, whose six-strong portfolio includes Holiday Inn Glasgow Theatreland and the Holiday Inn Express Edinburgh Airport, show profits grew against a backdrop of challenging trading conditions.
A 25 per cent increase in visitors from North America thanks in part of the Brexit-hit pound – taking US guests to an undisclosed record high - helped the company offset rising energy costs and commission paid to third party websites for marketing rooms at its hotels.
According to the accounts, Chardon lifted turnover by 3.3 per cent to £16.2m in the year ended April 30, which came as revenue per available room – a key performance measure for the hotel sector – increased by 4.4 per cent to £65.05.
However, while underlining its confidence in the continuing profitability of the group, chief executive Nicola Taylor said Chardon expects to “face significant challenges in 2018”.
Ms Taylor said factors such as slowing economic growth, the recovery of the pound and the impact made by a “significant increase in new hotel rooms”, will lead to slower growth this year.
In the meantime hotel operators are facing rising costs, with the weak pound putting upward pressure on the cost of goods, she said.
Ms Taylor added: “The directors anticipate increasing labour issues.
“Brexit has prompted some EU workers to leave their jobs and it is proving to be a struggle to fill these vacancies with the replacement staff often coming at a significantly higher cost.”
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