Friday, February 7, 2025
Friday, February 7, 2025
HomeNewsBusiness News'Exceptional' year for Crerar Hotels as profit rises to £8.8m

‘Exceptional’ year for Crerar Hotels as profit rises to £8.8m

Crerar Hotels Group has reported a strong trading year with both turnover and gross profit continuing rise as significant investment continues in its properties across Scotland.

During the period (to end of March 2024) the Group reported a £1.9m increase in EBITDA and nine per cent increase in turnover and saw a 10 per cent increase in room revenue.

Gross profit, supported by the increase in room revenue, rose by more than £1m (from £7.8million to £8.8 million), up over 13 percent.

The Group, which took on the management of three new hotels in June 2023, including the five-star Fonab Castle in Pitlochry, Perthshire’s Dunkeld House Hotel and the Daffodil Hotel & Spa in Grasmere in the Lake District says that the success comes “after years of investment and improvement throughout the Group which has delivered an exceptional performance given the market conditions and challenges faced by the industry. These results are proof of concept for its commitment to developing its teams and the successful repositioning of the individual hotels and the Group as a whole.”

Crerar Hotels boosted staff numbers and increased basic salaries and benefits, increasing spend across the Group, pointing to the creation of a new Head of People role (Claire Johnston) and a new Director of Learning and Development role (Laura Dunphy) which it says emphasises it’s belief in the importance of team development to its success.

As well as winning the national title of AA Small Hotel Group of the Year, CEO Chris Wayne-Wills was was awarded CEO of the Year by the Scottish Professional Awards as well as being the only Scottish hotelier to receive the Master Inn Holder award during this period.

Chris Wayne-Wills said, “This a strong year for the business reaching higher turnover levels. It is incredibly encouraging to be able to reflect on a positive year for Crerar Hotels and that’s largely down to our great teams, offering exceptional experiences, that is a winning formula that has delivered this sales and profit growth.

“We have demonstrated our ongoing dedication to building and strengthening our proposition, whilst ensuring our people are well looked after and valued. Our executive leadership team, who have worked together for a number of years, have also been a key driver in our success and these results are testament to the calibre of that team.

“Crerar Hotels Group has a strong identity and service offering; our guests now know what to expect when walking through the doors to any one of our hotels. One of our biggest additions to the portfolio is the management of three new hotels which are a fantastic fit for our business. Our job during this period and moving forward is to really bring these new hotels in line with the high standards we place on our seven existing hotels. So far, this transition is going very well indeed, and we have plans to invest in these hotels in the year ahead to drive this ambition further.”

Chris Wayne-Wills added that the current financial year would continue to bring its own new set of challenges but remains confident that Crerar Hotels is in its strongest position to date to navigate these.

He said, “We have continued to focus on our investment in our people and our hotels. Our future potential continues to thrive, and we remain steadfast in our commitment to our guests and their experience, our properties and our team.”

 

- Advertisment -

Most Popular