Macdonald Hotels & Resorts makes 50 staff redundant

Macdonald Hotels & Resorts has blamed "unsustainably high" costs on its decision to make around 50 staff redundant.

It is believed that the jobs will disappear in marketing, conferencing, IT, accounting and payroll departments at the company's head office in Bathgate, West Lothian.

Some staff are expected to be moved to other roles across the business, which numbers 31 hotels across the UK.

Difficulties experienced by the businesses as a result of an "above inflation" rise in business rates, alongside the rising costs of minimum wage rates, energy bills, the apprenticeship levy and pension contributions, were highlighted in a letter to staff.

The group is consulting with staff about the redundancy process.

In the most recent accounts for Macdonald Hotels lodged at Companies House, pre-tax profit plunged by 91% from £62.3m to £5.6m, while turnover dropped by £8m to £154.2m for the year to 30 March 2017.

The decline in sales was explained by the loss of trade from three hotels: Swan's Nest in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire; Old England in Windermere, Cumbria; and the Marine hotel in North Berwick, East Lothian, which had been sold the previous year.

Macdonald Hotels & Resorts declined to comment about the redundancies.

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