Millennium and Copthorne pushes profit up 65% thanks to Singapore apartment sales

Millennium and Copthorne Hotels has increased revenue by 35% to a record £1,037m, boosted by sales at its Glyndebourne development in Singapore.

The hotel group said that 147 of the 150 apartments on the former Copthorne Orchid hotel site were sold, generating revenue of £274m and pre-tax profits of £139m. This pushed profit for the year to 31st December 2013 up by 64.9% to £230m.

Although group revpar rose 3.4% in 2013 to £69.58, hotel revenue fell 1.5% to £738m. Millennium and Copthorne said this was down to a reduction in hotel non-room revenue and the effect of rooms lost to refurbishment.

In London hotel revenue was up 2.1% at £110.7m and revpar was £108.19. In the rest of Europe revpar was £48.04 and hotel revenue was up 1.4% at £70.2m.

Millennium and Copthorne also confirmed plans for a £65m five-star all-suite hotel located in London's Chelsea Harbour. It said the deal would be complete in the first quarter of 2014.

Chairman Kwek Leng Beng said: "In 2013, the Group's performance was boosted significantly by the recognition of profit from the Glyndebourne development. We remain cautiously optimistic about the Group's full year performance in 2014 despite uncertainty affecting some regions, and poor weather conditions in US and UK in the first quarter.

"The Group's performance will be further impacted by our refurbishment programme and the resulting temporary removal of rooms from inventory."

Millennium and Copthorne to buy Chelsea Harbour hotel for £65m >>