Malmaison and Hotel du Vin owner finds trade tough in second half of 2011
The company, which has reduced its borrowing by £100m to £180m after completing of the sales and leasebacks on five hotels, reported a 'softening in demand' for both accommodation and food & beverage from 1 July to 18 November 2011 while operating costs increased by 4.3 per cent.
"Like-for-like food & beverage revenues for the period were 2.8 per cent below the equivalent period in 2010 but including the two new Bistro du Vins opened earlier this year, total food and beverage revenue was up 2.9 per cent," it said in a statement.
However, although there was a decrease in volume sales, overall revenue for the four month period was up 1.5 per cent on the same period last year and room rates also improved to be in line with last year's figures as occupancy rose 2 per cent from 84 per cent to 86 per cent across the group.
Stable base
In a statement, the company said the completion of the sales and leasebacks on the five hotels in London, Manchester, Birmingham, Newcastle and Aberdeen, helped to provide a 'stable platform' to help the company move forward over the next year and that it was confident costs would be managed effectively.
The company is also set to announce a new chief executive for Malmaison and Hotel du Vin with the departure of Robert Cook from the position at the end of this month.
It said: "Whilst our customers continue to appreciate the quality services and products of Malmaison and Hotel du Vin and MWB Business Exchange, our management teams realise that in the current economic climate they need to adapt to changing market conditions to maximise occupancies and revenues and to efficiently manage costs. We remain confident in their ability to do so throughout the remainder of the financial year."
