Brighter figures for De Vere, despite bad weather

29 September 2004
Brighter figures for De Vere, despite bad weather

The De Vere Group has reported increases in both sales and revenue per available room (revpar) at its Village and De Vere-branded hotels.

In a trading update today, the company said like-for-like sales at De Vere were up by 3% during the year to 26 September.

Occupancy was up by 0.3 percentage points, room rate up by 2.1% and revpar up by 2.5%.

A marketing campaign over the summer helped to counteract the effect of the bad weather.

"The corporate segment also performed well and volumes in the conference segment held firm, despite the impact of Euro 2004 and major works at the De Vere Grand Brighton," the company said.

Occupancy across the De Vere chain reached 74.7%.

At the group's Village hotels, occupancy was ahead by 1.6 percentage points to more than 80%, room rate was up by 5.1% and revpar up by 7.2% to £44.43.

This was driven by "effective revenue management and a more buoyant corporate sector," De Vere said.

Like-for-like turnover rose by 3.7%.

Three more Village hotels are set to open over the next 18 months, following the launch of the Viilage Maidstone, in Kent, during June.

The company has completed the sale of the Village properties in Swindon and Prestwich for a combined £6m.

It has also exchanged contracts for the sale of the De Vere Bellhouse, near Windsor, Buckinghamshire, for £14.4m, £1.3m below its value in the company's books.

The De Vere Dormy, near Bournemouth in Dorset, is being sold for residential development. The company said this sale was "progressing and it is anticipated that proceeds will exceed book value".

De Vere added that the cost of defending itself against this year's partial takeover bid from investor Guinness Peat Group would be about £1.3m.

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