Britannia Hotels' profits halved
Britannia Hotels saw its pre-tax profits more than halved in 2014, despite a rise in turnover.
The 48-strong hotel group's pre-tax profit fell to £1.4m for the year to 31 March 2014, down from almost £3.6m the year before.
That was despite a rise in turnover, which hit £73.3m in 2014, up from nearly £69.8m in the year before.
In a directors' statement preceding its annual accounts, filed in Companies House, the company said it recognised "that the current economic climate in the UK has placed additional demands on the business, which has resulted in the need to maintain provisions for onerous contracts relating to two hotels and carefully consider whether there is a requirement to write down the carrying value of others".
The business, which is owned by entrepreneur Alex Langsam, operates hotels across the country including the Grand Metropole in Blackpool, the Grand Burstin in Folkestone, and both the Grand and Royal hotels in Scarborough.
Last week, the group ranked the lowest among 29 hotel chains in a Which? consumer survey, which tested hotels on nine measures including cleanliness and customer service.