Rocco Forte Hotels achieves £10.4m pre-tax profits
Improvements in the global economy, strong demand from the leisure sector and a focus on the highest level of guest service have helped drive up revenue by 4% to £193m at Rocco Forte Hotels.
Pre-tax profits for the group's holding company, Rocco Forte & Family, also increased to £10.4m for the year ended 30 April 2014, from £2.9m during the previous 12 months.
The company now owns or leases 11 hotels following the sale in September 2014 of the 165-bedroom Lowry hotel in Manchester to Westmont Hospitality Group and its investment partner Mount Kellett Capital Management, off an asking price of around £40m.
Following the sale of the Lowry, Rocco Forte Hotels has two remaining five-red-AA star properties in the UK: the 117-bedroom Brown's hotel in London and the 188-bedroom Balmoral in Edinburgh.
In November 2014, the company secured £60m worth of funding from the Italian state-backed sovereign fund, Fondo Strategico Italiano in exchange for a 23% non-controlling equity stake. A new funding facility was also signed with the Bank of Scotland, providing finance for the group until 2020.
