Scotsman hotel owner G1 Group moves into serviced apartments

G1 Group, which runs the Scotsman hotel in Edinburgh as well a collection of over 50 other Scottish venues, is to move into providing services apartments, it has revealed.

The news came as the group unveiled a 5% increase in turnover to £132.2m for the year to 31 March 2019, up from £125.7m in 2017.

Pre-tax profit at the group, which runs a string of hotels, restaurants, pubs, bars and nightclubs in Glasgow, Edinburgh, St Andrews, Aberdeen and Dundee, also increased to £10.8m, up from £9.9m in 2017.

Chairman Brian McGee said that it acquired a group of apartments at George IV Bridge in Edinburgh, which he described as "an initial move for the group into serviced apartments". Further projects in Edinburgh and St Andrews are also planned.

McGee said that G1 Group's growth had come despite rises in labour, rates and utility costs, which he attributed to a combination of targeted investment and "careful management".

G1 Group focused on the development of the 69-bedroom, five-AA-star Scotsman hotel, which was the group's largest-ever acquisition when it bought it in 2017, after the hotel went into liquidation in 2016.

McGee said: "The refurbishment programme for the Scotsman hotel has gone really well, with excellent customer feedback, and has also created some very attractive event spaces which are in strong demand. Alongside that, the group has created the spectacular surroundings of the Grand Café, which has been much admired and very recently the total renovation of the boutique Scotsman cinema."

During the year, the group spent £14.6m on its estate as part of its capital expenditure programme. Group net assets increased by £7.5m to £77.3m, while net debt decreased by £2.4m to £83.8m.

However, the business sounded a warning over Brexit, saying the political and economic uncertainty was a "constant challenge to business".