Gleneagles repays £5m coronavirus loan despite reporting £9m pandemic loss

Gleneagles hotel in Perthshire has repaid a £5m government coronavirus loan early, despite racking up losses of almost £9m last year.

Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2021 showed turnover at the 96-year-old hotel dropped to £19.7m compared to £66.3m the previous year.

The Auchterarder property was closed for eight months during the period, and only traded from 15 July until 13 November in 2020.

It reopened on 26 April 2021 and directors said that “strong trading” in the summer of 2021 allowed it to repay a £5m Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan (CLBILS) in August earlier than required.

Gleneagles also received support from its parent company and through the furlough scheme. The hotel said this allowed it to avoid “large scale redundancies”, though its average number of employees dropped from 967 to 894 during the year, with wage costs reducing from £23.8m to £16.7m.

Overall, pre-tax losses widened from £5.2m to £8.95m in the year ended 31 March 2021.

Gleneagles forecasted strong occupancy for 2022/23 and has continued with its multimillion-pound refurbishment programme, with all bedrooms now upgraded and its spa relaunched with a new treatment menu.

The annual accounts said: “The directors are confident that the quality of the product, the location of the hotel and the level of customer service will be a competitive advantage to maintain and hopefully increase market share.”

The hotel will open its first city outpost, Gleneagles Townhouse in Edinburgh, in spring 2022.