Britannia Hotels sees profits fall to £31m

A hotel group named the worst in the UK for over a decade saw a dip in profits over its last financial year.

 

Britannia Hotels, which consistently been ranked last in the annual consumer surveys run by Which?, operates 64 hotels across the country, including Blackpool’s Metropole hotel (pictured), the Adelphi hotel in Liverpool and the Cavendish hotel in Eastbourne.

 

The company saw pre-tax profits drop to £31m in the year ended 31 March 2024, down from £39m the previous year.

 

However, turnover rose to £162.4m, up from £154.7m the previous year, while sales increased 5%.

 

Britannia employed an average of 2,452 people during the year and paid out £39.7m in wages and salaries.

 

Writing in its accounts, director Robert Ferrari said the hotel chain remained flexible on its prices to adapt to ongoing challenges.

 

“The hotel industry in the UK continues to be increasingly competitive and this brings an increased risk of losing major sales accounts to competitor. The company manages to control this risk by adding improved services whilst retaining highly competitive prices and maintaining good customer relationships,” he said.

 

“In addition, we employ tight controls on our costs, particularly labour costs, in order to ensure that the company maintains its competitive position.”

 

Ferrari said the directors were confident Britannia was “in a good position to meet the challenges and opportunities of the future”.

 

He added: “The hotels have managed to maintain their competitive edge through the economic downturn and continue to take steps designed to attract new business and improve market share going forward.

 

“The directors have carefully considered the availability of working capital and likely levels of trading over the next 12 months. They are confident that the business is well placed to meet any challenges that might arise.”

 

Britannia also owns holiday park company Pontins after buying it out of administration in 2011.

 

No dividends were paid for the year.

 

Image: Mark D Bailey/Shutterstock