Highland Show back in the red as profits up to £618k
The organisation behind the Royal Highland Show yesterday revealed a profit of £618,000 last year compared with a deficit of £234,000 in 2017.
The Royal Highland and Agricultural Society financial report also showed several one off payments contributing to this year’s surplus including a single legacy of £425,000 and £824,000 received as grants towards the capital infrastructure for the recently completed Moxy Hotel.
There was also a one off gain of £2.1 million from the sale of a digital advertising screen on the perimeter of the site.
The financial report also shows a £3.4m increase in fixed assets in the past year, attributed to a multimillion pound investment in drainage and power supplies infrastructure at the 280-acre site at Ingliston over the past three years.
The investment in the Ingliston site continues with the Trustees having approved the replacement of the former Macrobert Pavilion with a new purpose-built space and members’ facility.
Construction started in January 2019 and is scheduled to be completed in
April 2020 just prior to that year’s Highland show in June with a total build cost of over £5m.
RHASS chairman, Jim Warnock confirmed the building was on schedule and that it was also on budget which would be financed through the RHASS’S own resources along with fundraising from members backed up with development funding provided by the Royal Bank of Scotland.
In presenting the annual report, Warnock stated that the RHASS was in a “solid financial position” which he attributed to the robust management of the assets.
“The Royal Highland Show continues to drive revenue as does our events business, the Royal Highland Centre. New revenue streams, including
rental income from the Moxy Hotel, will ensure we remain a sustainable organisation through prudent financial management.”
The Highland show has been estimated to bring in more than £50m to the local economy during its four-day run in June is the main event hosted by the RHASS.
Running costs of the show are continuing to rise with ‘show related activities’ now pushing expenditure to over £5m; a rise of three-quarters of a million from the previous year.
Income for the Highland Centre which hosts a large number of events throughout the year, showed a small increase in income to £1.65m from £1.6m in 2017.