THE owners of the now-closed Pontins holiday park in Prestatyn and Llandudno’s Grand Hotel have reported a record-high level of turnover in its latest accounts.
Britannia Hotels Ltd, which has been voted the UK’s worst hotel chain by Which? for 11 successive years, also saw pre-tax profits rise from £33.4million in 2022 to £39.4m in 2023.
Its latest set of accounts, filed last week, concern the financial year ending April 1, 2023.
Turnover increased to £154.8m in 2023 from £117.8m in 2022, with a gross profit margin in 2023 equating to 68.7 per cent.
READ MORE:
Pontins explains why Prestatyn Sands Holiday Park has closed
Pontins’ Prestatyn holiday park closes immediately after 50+ years
Pontins Prestatyn staff say they learnt of site’s closure on Facebook
Britannia bought Pontins out of administration in 2011, but suddenly shut Prestatyn Sands Holiday Park for good on November 30, 2023.
It told staff who worked at the park that the decision was financially-driven, with the park having been projected to make a loss in 2024.
The Grand Hotel, meanwhile, is one of more than 60 UK hotels which Britannia operates.
Britannia wrote in its latest accounts: “Sales have increased over 31 per cent for the year.
“This result represents an exceptional performance achieved during a period of difficult trading conditions which continues to limit opportunities for growth.”
Its 2022 and 2023 figures are in stark contrast to those concerning the financial year ending March 2021, when Britannia had reported a pre-tax loss of £9.5m.
The total number of staff grew from 1,818 in 2022 to 2,365 in 2023, with the Britannia saying it has "tight controls on labour costs".
Britannia added: “The directors remain confident that the company is in a good position to meet the challenges and opportunities of the future.
“The hotels have managed to maintain their competitive edge through the economic downturn and continue to take steps designed to attract new business and improve market share going forward.”
No public explanation has yet been given by either Pontins or Britannia Hotels for the closure of Prestatyn Sands.
But extracts from e-mails addressed to employees and shown to the Journal read: “Due to business levels, Pontins Prestatyn Sands will be closing with immediate effect.
“The company have been reviewing the business levels of the park throughout the 2023 season, and have concluded that continuing trading at this park in to 2024 is no longer a viable business decision.
“Therefore, it is for that reason that the company have made the difficult decision to implement proposed redundancies at Prestatyn Sands.
“The company continues to review the business levels for the park, and since COVID, this park has not been able to return to reasonable business levels.
“Current projections are that the park will make a financial loss in the 2024 season and beyond.
“The company are looking to close the holiday park to the public for the foreseeable future.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here