Portland Hotels, the privately owned hotel management and investment company, with two of its properties in the capital, has reported a strong performance with rising sales, despite the ongoing challenging and uncertain market conditions.
In figures released in the company’s most recent annual report to 29 January 2012, the hotel group reports a further year of growth with a 4.8% rise in turnover to £14.3m and profit before tax of £1.6 million, an increase of 13% in profits on the prior period. Colin Paton, Chief Executive of Portland Hotels said:- “The trading performance of our company has been very impressive during 2011/12. Like for like sales have increased by almost 5% in an economy which is at best ‘bumping along the bottom’. This has enabled us to outperform the Provincial UK Hotel Industry with a healthy increase in pre-tax profits.
“Sales performance across both business and leisure channels has been pleasing – with the ‘staycation’ undoubtedly boosting the leisure market. Despite challenging market conditions, a softening of the European Leisure market, some airlines removing capacity and the recent higher inflation, with a strong revenue management focus we have again succeeded in driving sales up. We have maintained our investment programme with a further £0.7m invested in our estate last year, bringing the total, excluding acquisitions, invested in our estate to £7.5m over the past 8 years. We have always and will continue to invest significantly in our products as we believe this sets us apart from our peers and the larger brands and has enabled us to attract and retain customers and preserve rates.
“Portland is keen to expand. Despite an indication that substantial additional facilities would be favourably considered by our principal banker, from late summer onward our perception of the risk to trading and asset values caused by the Euro Crisis combined with a lack of quality investment opportunities resulted in the company not increasing the size and geographic distribution of its portfolio.
“Founded in October 2001, the company’s hotels are in demand, in good condition, in higher performing markets, with well trained unit and head office staff. Our distribution, e-commerce and marketing are effective and our balance sheet is strong. We remain committed to providing value-for-money, high quality, comfortable rooms, coupled with attentive service in the highly competitive local markets where we operate.”
The Portland Hotel portfolio comprises the Huntingtower Hotel, in Perth; Best Western Edinburgh City Hotel, Best Western Edinburgh Capital Hotel, Glasgow Pond Hotel and the Speedbird Inn, Aberdeen. Together the group has a collective roomstock of nearly 550 rooms.
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