CONFIDENCE

Apex Hotels, the Edinburghheadquartered group with sites in the Scottish capital, Bath, Dundee, Glasgow and London, has posted rising profits and turnover following a year of major investment.

The group also issued a bullish trading outlook yesterday as it flagged multi-millionpound refurbishment work at its four-star establishments.

Its latest accounts revealed a 6 per cent rise in turnover – from £61.3 million to £65m – alongside a 2.1 per cent increase in underlying profits before tax, which were up from £10.3m to £10.5m during the year.

The group said it had displayed its confidence in the market during the financial year with capital investment of £20.7m used to further develop its new hotel, Apex City of Bath.

The £48.5m, 177-bed hotel is the latest addition to Apex’s now ten-strong portfolio. Its August opening was a significant milestone, marking the Scottish company’s first in England outside of London.

Angela Vickers, chief executive of Apex Hotels, said: “We

0 Chief executive Angela Vickers has flagged further investment in sites

ANGELA VICKERS, CEO are proud to reflect on a financial year that shows considerable capital investment and consistently strong financial performance.

“In January we promised an exciting year of development and investment and our stunning new hotel in Bath has delivered that – and created 120 jobs. It is the city’s largest in terms of bedroom numbers and events space.

“Our track record in the four-star market is achieved through our high customer service and brand standards, as well as our ongoing commitment to continued investment in our existing offering.

“With that in mind our investment plans don’t stop here – there’s more exciting news in the pipeline with multi-million-pound refurbishment works set to be announced in the coming weeks.”

She added: “In the longer term we anticipate the continued growth of our hotel and hospitality operations through extension of existing sites where possible and

“We are proud to reflect on a financial year that shows considerable capital investment and consistently strong financial performance”