The House of Bruar retail destination at Blair Atholl achieved strong rises in turnover and earnings in the year to January, it revealed yesterday.
Managing director Patrick Birkbeck flagged “difficult” conditions, and his focus on making the retail experience as good as possible with the “best people” on the shop floor “really looking after” customers.
The House of Bruar said it would announce an increase in turnover of 15% to £45 million for the year to January 31, 2024, adding: “Whilst the activities at the Highland Perthshire site have grown, the increase is largely due to the expansion in direct shopping channels, which now accounts for half of the turnover.”
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Mr Birkbeck said the family-owned business had achieved earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of more than £10m in the 12 months to January, up around 11% on the prior financial year.
He noted that the total annual salary bill was rising by 11%, resulting in more than £1m of extra costs.
The House of Bruar employs more than 300 people, all based in Highland Perthshire.
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Commenting on the backdrop, Mr Birkbeck said: “Of course, it is difficult. Any business is difficult. We could get the violin out, and doom and gloom and whinge or whatever. We have just got to get on with it and get better.”
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He added: “The way I see this year, I probably see it the same every year. We are going to have to work bloody hard to stand still.”
The House of Bruar said: “The state of the economy is a concern for the business looking towards 2024, which will not be helped by the uncertainty created by elections, both domestically and internationally.”
It added: “The war in Ukraine has increased the annual costs of power by double, but the issue of power does not stop with the war. The House of Bruar, in partnership with Atholl Estates, is keen to provide electrical vehicle charging points in order to enhance the service on the A9. However, a recent quotation estimated the costs of providing power to the site to be £4m because of the lack of capacity in the network infrastructure.”
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