A-list cachet reaps rewards for hotelier Firmdale

BOUTIQUE hotel operator Firmdale is set to report that it booked record revenue of £125.8m in 2016 driven largely by rising room rates at its eight London properties.

Owned by the husband-and-wife team of Tim and Kit Kemp, Firmdale’s flagships include the Charlotte Street Hotel and the Ham Yard, in London’s West End.

Firmdale also owns two hotels in New York City – the Crosby Street and The Whitby, which opened in February and has already become a hangout for A-list actors including Laura Dern and Woody Harrelson.

Accounts due to be filed next week for Firmdale’s parent company show that in the year ending January 31, 2017 total group turnover rose 6.9pc with underlying profits increasing in line with this from £17.1m to £25.3m.

Firmdale’s London hotels are renowned for their avant-garde art and it has given them a loyal following.

A miniature helter skelter holding oranges winds from the ceiling of the bar in the Ham Yard to a juicer on the counter, while 135 clocks hang on a wall in the lobby telling the time in giant numbers which are formed from their hands aligning.

Firmdale has capitalised on its dominance by boosting room rates with the average across its London hotels rising by 3.3pc to £360 last year. It didn’t dampen interest as occupancy increased 1.6 percentage points to 85.2pc giving a 5.3pc rise in room yield which hit £307.