Hotel du Vin and Malmaison owner posts £90m losses

Hotel du Vin and Malmaison owner Frasers Hospitality UK Holdings has posted £90.8m in pre-tax losses and flat turnover.

In its financial results for the year to 30 September 2018 filed with Companies House, the group reported dramatically increased losses on last year's £187,000 loss despite broadly similar revenue of £144.6m against £144.9m last year and flat earnings of £26.3m.

In the report, director Guus Bakker said the group had experienced "some of the most challenging trading conditions seen for over a decade" in the past year adding that it is facing "headwinds" in the market.

However, he added that the directors are confident in the group's ability to "navigate through this period of economic uncertainty" and meet its liabilities. Despite the conditions, Bakker described the group's performance as "resilient".

The group invested £20m in its properties during the period and continues to seek new sites across the UK. It is in negotiations around a further five opportunities with openings scheduled for 2019 and beyond.

In a further statement, the group added: "The directors of Frasers Hospitality are mindful that the business is navigating some of the most challenging trading conditions seen for over a decade, in particular in the F&B sector.

"However, the performance of the group's overall portfolio has been resilient and allowed the business to remain focused on strengthening the competitive positioning of its hotels and F&B offerings.

"Our statements outline a clear aim of delivering operating efficiency and maintaining discipline over controllable costs while continuing investment in new and existing properties."

Frasers Hospitality operates 15 Malmaison and 19 Hotel du Vin hotels across the UK. Hotel du Vin was sold along with sister brand Malmaison to Frasers Hospitality UK Holdings for £363.4m in 2015 by US-based private equity firm KSL Capital Partners.

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