Hand Picked Hotels sees turnover increase to £62.4m

07 September 2016 by Katherine Price

Hand Picked Hotels has increased its group turnover by 3.7% to £62.4m, assisted by growth in both occupancy and average room rates, for the 12 months to 26 November 2015.

The regional hotel group, headed by chairman and chief executive officer Julia Hands, also reduced its losses from £9.1m in 2013 to £3.9m in 2014, and further reduced losses to £3.5m in 2015, according to its annual accounts lodged at Companies House. Overall occupancy increased by 1.2% and revenue per available room by 5.6%.

The company, with a portfolio including the four-red-AA-star, 70-bedroom Rookery Hall hotel in Nantwich, Cheshire, and the four-red-AA-star, 44-bedroom Buxted Park hotel in East Sussex, also saw an increase in EBITDA of 0.5% from £9.5m to £9.6m.

Food and beverage sales grew by 1.9%, with a stronger performance in meeting and event revenue, and the hotel's health club and spa operation grew turnover by 5.1%.

Last year it sold the Priest House hotel in Derbyshire for £3m to the owner of Norton Motorcycles. It also relaunched the Fawsley Hall Hotel & Spa after a £4.5m restoration, and the Crathorne Hall hotel's east wing was relaunched with a £4m restoration after fire damage suffered in 2014.

The group spent £8.9m on upgrades throughout the collection, with a special focus on leisure facilities, hotel bedrooms and public areas.

Hand Picked Hotels owns and operates 17 upmarket country house hotels and operates four under management contracts, with a total of 1,357 rooms (1,356 in 2014).

Hands said: "Despite continuing challenges to the cost base during 2015, Hand Picked Hotels delivered a 0.5% increase in its EBITDA. We have always been immensely proud of the quality of both our product and service and strive to continue to achieve results without compromising our position in the market and, above all else, our customer satisfaction."

Hand Picked Hotels reduces losses from £9.1m to £3.9m >>

Hand Picked Hotels sells Priest House hotel to owner of Norton Motorcycles >>

Crathorne Hall hotel unveils £4m restoration one year on from fire >>

Fawsley Hall Hotel & Spa reveals £4.5m restoration >>