Crerar Hotels secures £2m loan to fund further investment

Crerar Hotels has secured a £2m loan from its largest shareholder to fund further investment in three of its sites.

In October 2021 the Scottish hotel group received the funding to develop new spas at its Loch Fyne hotel in Inveraray and Golf View hotel in Nairn and to refurbish the Deeside Inn in Ballater.

Since 2019 Crerar has been undergoing a multi-million-pound investment programme to bring its entire portfolio up to four-star standard, which it has now achieved. Last year the Glencoe Inn in the Highlands was its first property to achieve a five-star rating by the AA.

Crerar also completed a £4m refurbishment of its Isle of Mull Hotel & Spa in Craignure (pictured) in summer 2021.

Crerar also has a £4.2m overdraft facility with Santander but said strong trading performance over the summer of 2021/2022 meant there should only be “limited requirement” for its use.

In its accounts, the company directors said they were “very satisfied” with the financial performance of the group despite the “adverse and extremely challenging conditions” it faced in 2020.

The accounts state: “These combined investments should put the business in a very strong position to take advantage of all the opportunities that arise as the pandemic continues to recede and the directors remain confident that the business will continue to develop and improve its performance in accordance with its strategic objectives.”

For the year to 27 March 2021 Crerar’s losses before tax widened to £2.4m from £1.69m over the previous 12 months.

Turnover dropped to £5.4m, down from £15.3m the previous year, reflecting the impact of enforced pandemic closures on the business. The company posted an earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBIDTA) loss of £686,000.