Peel Hotels announces strong results for year to February 2015
The Peel Hotels group has announced significant improvement in turnover and EBITDA, in its financial results for the year ended 1 February 2015.
Turnover for the company grew by 6.1%, to £16.4m (compared with £15.5m in 2014), while EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) increased by 24.9% to £2.5m.
Revpar (revenue per available room) increased 9.9%, with occupancy up 8.9% and a 1% rise in average room rate.
Operating profit was £1.4m, compared with £929,627 in 2014.
Capital expenditure was up to £603,295 (compared with £519,328 in 2014), thanks to significant investment in the Crown and Mitre Hotel in Carlisle. This included refurbishment of the corridors, some bedrooms, and the front elevation of the hotel, of which £80,000 was contributed by English Heritage.
Bedroom refurbishment was also carried out at the Bull hotel in Peterborough, the Caledonian in Newcastle, and the Cosmopolitan in Leeds. Other improvements include the renovation of the restaurant at the Norfolk in Birmingham and an upgrade in the free internet access for guests.
Chairman Robert Peel commented: "Sustained improvement in turnover has continued in the new financial year and we continue to pay down our debt. These two factors will enable us to look forward to another year of progress."
The results contrast sharply with those of the year ending February 2012, where the group saw its toughest year ever thanks to rapidly rising energy costs.
Peel created the group in 1998, when he bought the Bull hotel, having previously worked as chief executive of Mount Charlotte hotels, which later became part of Thistle Hotels. He and his brother Charles still own more than 50% of the Peel group, which now operates nine hotels across the UK, including the Strathdon in Nottingham, the Midland in Bradford, and the King Malcolm in Dunfermline.
