Mayfair hotel closure continues to hit Millennium profits

The closure of the Millennium Hotel London Mayfair for refurbishment is continuing to hit owner Millennium & Copthorne's profits.

In its financial results for the first quarter of the year to 31 March 2019 the hotel group reported pre-tax profits were down from £15m to £11m. The property has been closed since July last year ahead of its relaunch in June as the Biltmore under Hilton's luxury LXR Hotels & Resorts brand, the first in Europe.

The closure also hit the group's total revenue, which decreased by £9m to £215m and group revenue per available room (revpar) during the period decreased by 0.9% to £70.01.

Revpar in Europe during the first quarter fell slightly by 0.3% principally due to the lower room rates. London revpar increased by 5.3% to £82.93, occupancy increased by 4.4% and average room rate fell by 1% during the period.

Chairman Kwek Leng Beng said: "Despite the uncertainties and challenges in the global economy, we remain focused on making the best use of our hospitality assets. The group is prioritising the refurbishment of our key gateway city properties to reposition our hotels, whilst seeking to minimise the short-term negative impact on our trading results. Operationally, we must successfully manage the refurbishment process and re-focus our sales efforts so as to improve yields."

Millennium & Copthorne Hotels owns and manages more than 130 hotels across four brands, 20 of which are in the UK, including the Chelsea Harbour hotel and the Bailey's hotel in London, and the Hard Days Night hotel in Liverpool.

M&C saw the departure of three directors, including chief executive Jennifer Fox, in the latter half of the 2018 and the search for a permanent CEO is ongoing.

Millennium Mayfair closure knocks £12m off M&C profits >>

Millennium Hotel London Mayfair to be rebranded under new Hilton brand LXR Hotels & Resorts >>