Leonardo Hotels owner loses £58m

ALMOST £60m was lost by Leonardo Hotels despite its turnover almost doubling in 2022, new accounts have revealed.

The chain, which rebranded its Jurys Inn hotels towards the end of the year, has posted pre-tax losses of £58m for the 12 months after also losing £52.3m in 2021. However its turnover jumped from £149.2m to £290.2m over the same period.

The group has hotels in the North West, North East, West Midlands, London, South West and Scotland and increased its headcount from 2,349 to 3,092 in the year. Leonardo Hotel Management (UK) is headquartered in Birmingham and owned by Fattal Hotels. The business was founded by David Fattal, who built a fortune of around $1.3bn after setting up his hotel chain in 1998.

Fattal Hotels is the largest chain in his native Israel and now counts more than 40 sites and over 10,500 rooms in its portfolio. Leonardo Hotel Management (UK) also includes the Midland Hotel in Manchester.

A statement signed off by the board said: “The large increase in turnover versus prior year represents the huge rebound in business on the back of the Covid pandemic in the two previous years as customers began to travel and stay away from home once again. Whilst there still remained challenges in the first quarter of 2022 regarding Covid, the company ensured that confidence was built with customers which allowed for a successful year in terms of both rates achieved and occupancy levels as the market recovered.

“Whilst turnover has increased dramatically, operating costs increased substantially as inflation reached record high levels and the impact of the war in Ukraine led to energy costs rising. Whilst the market continues to grow and as a company one new hotel was opened during the year in Manchester, cost control is a key focus in order to manage cashflow in the face of increasing costs.”

On its future, the company added: “The directors expect to see improved results for 2023 and throughout future years as the company and wider hospitality industry continue to recover from the impact of the pandemic.

“The first quarter of 2022 has seen challenging conditions as the hotel operations continued to face into the Covid pandemic and customer uncertainty led to lower than expected business levels. Thankfully a strong rebound in the industry was witnessed as guests, specifically leisure customers, decided to travel as restrictions were lifted and backed-up demand for travel meant strong occupancy and rates achieved.

“The directors are confident that the future of the company will show increasing growth in future years.”