Cornwall's Headland hotel records rise in pre-tax profit despite Covid closures

An expansion of facilities and stringent cost savings helped the 91-bedroom Headland hotel in Cornwall achieve a 19.3% increase in pre-tax profit in 2020 despite Covid closing the hotel for five months.

Situated on a cliff top overlooking Fistral beach, the hotel benefitted from its newly achieved five-star status, awarded from both the AA and Quality on Tourism, and from the opening of the Aqua Club in July 2020, both which helped drive up the average room rate. This helped increase the pre-tax profit to £1.3m on a turnover of £7.6m, down from £9.2m in 2019, according to the hotel’s annual results for the year to 30 November 2020 posted on Companies House.

The addition of the Aqua Club has brought three indoor pools, three outdoor pools and the new Deck restaurant. The hotel also has two other restaurants, the Samphire and the Terrace.

Through the pandemic the hotel’s owners John and Carol Armstrong undertook additional responsibilities in the running of the hotel, as no additional costs, due to reduced staffing levels.

Additional significant cost savings were made by stopping the use of third-party booking sites for sales and agencies for recruitment. The hotel also benefitted from financial assistance in the form of business rate reductions, the Eat Out To Help Out scheme and the furlough scheme.

In his annual report, John Armstrong said that the hotel now looks forward to “a very bright future” as it welcomes back guests. “With greater confidence moving forward, the hotel has resumed its significant investment in the buildings and grounds to ensure quality standards are maintained.”