GLENEAGLES Hotel posted a £9 million pre-tax loss for the year to March 31 last year but hailed strong occupancy after reopening in April, it said in its annual report newly filed with Companies House.

Its loss widened from £5m for the 15 months to March 31, 2020, the Auchterarder hotel reported.

It posted turnover at £19.7m for the year to March 31, 2021 against £66.4m for the 15 months to March 31, 2020.

Gleneagles said in the report that after the hotel reopened in April 2021 it “enjoyed strong trading" adding: “The company was able to weather the Covid-19 pandemic due to liquidity support from our parent company as well as our primary lender, in the form of a CLBILS loan facility."

The directors noted that strong trading in the summer 2021 has allowed early repayment of the £5 million government loan.

The Herald:

Forecasts show cash flows generated by the company “will be sufficient to allow it to operate show for a period of at least one year”.

The hotel has “strong forecast occupancy” for 2022 and 2023, and its modelling based on potential further restrictions and it does not believe they represent a material uncertainty.

The world-famous golf hotel expects no, or very limited, restrictions such as in 2020 and 2021 after the spring 2022.

There were 894 staff on the Gleneagles books, compared with 967 in the previous 15 months, with the wage bill decreasing from £24m in the 15 months to March 31, 2020 to £17m this year.