TAKING AIM: The Old Course Hotel at St Andrews, with its golf resort and spa, has continued its recovery after a sharp downturn in business in the years following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the US.
Profits more than doubled in the latest trading period as visitor numbers increased and the Duke's championship golf course surged into the black.
The hotel was sold for GBP35m in July 2004 to the US-based Kohler Company. The vendor was Japan's company Kosaido Corporation, which had owned it for the previous decade.
Newly published accounts show that the Old Course Hotel Ltd more than doubled its operating profits in calendar 2004. In the nine months to December the company posted a surplus of GBP751,417, a like-for-like increase of 117-per cent on the previous 12month period. Sales climbed to GBP8.7m, an annualised increase of 23-per cent.
The Old Course attributed its improved fortunes to a rise in overseas business since the beginning of 2004, which was continued through the Summer, and a rise in domestic visitors during the winter months. The resort has been promoting itself as a destination for all seasons, which had helped to mitigate the effect of the expected Winter downturn. The 6800-yard Duke's course - which hosted the Scottish amateur championship in 2003 - made a small profit, the first since it opened in 1995.
The Old Course company has also invested in the product and people at the resort, which enabled it to be awarded five red stars by the AA in 2003 and retain them the following year. Only three hotels in Scotland - the Old Course, Turnberry and Gleneagles - had such a rating during that period.
The hotel's 2005 figures are expected to show a further improvement following the return of The Open last summer. The one-off boost from corporate hospitality has been estimated at GBP900,000.
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