Job losses at racecourse as Covid takes toll

JOBS have been lost at Newcastle Racecourse after it was ‘profoundly impacted’ by the Covid-19 lockdowns.

The racecourse has revealed it has been forced to carry out a major restructure after national and local lockdowns led to races being cancelled, then run without paying spectators.

Company accounts for High Gosforth Park Limited reveal how the company had to make an undisclosed number of redundancies to cope with the loss of income.

It comes after the accounts showed the company enjoyed a successful year in 2019, with revenues rising and a return to profitability.

Speaking in the accounts, director Stephane Nahum said: “The UK onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020 has caused a significant impact on the UK and global economy and, until such time as a vaccine programme is successfully rolled out, the uncertainty brought about by ongoing lockdown measures creates ongoing uncertainty and challenges for the UK economy.

“The company’s principal revenue streams are dependent on British horseracing fixtures being staged. Racing was suspended for a period approaching two-and-a-half months and whilst racing resumed on June 1 2020, at the time of reporting, this remains behind closed doors at Newcastle Racecourse.

“As a result, the company’s revenue streams have been profoundly impacted by the temporary cessation of racing and continue to be affected by the ongoing prohibition of on-course spectators. Due to these limited revenue streams, the company has undertaken a restructure.”

Newcastle Racecourse declined to comment on the restructuring process, so it is unknown how many staff may have been made redundant. The company employed 55 permanent members of staff last year, while its number of casual staff varied from 118 to 479.

As the financial accounts cover only the 2019 calendar year, the full details of the restructure have not been made publicly available. The accounts state that due to the on-going nature of the restructure “the cost savings cannot be fully quantified”.

The warning that the racecourse’s revenue figures are likely to be hit in 2020 comes after a strong 2019 for the business.

Turnover at the racecourse increased from £15.1m in 2018 to more than £16.8m in 2019. The growth also allowed the company to make an operating profit of £1.3m, up from an operating loss of £203,000 a year earlier.