Donald Trump was a staunch supporter of Brexit. But his Scottish golf resorts is where he draws the line.
The former president’s U.K.-based golfing havens have lost more than $5 million in the last financial year.
Trump’s Turnberry resort in Ayrshire Scotland recorded £3.7 million ($4.5 million) in pre-tax losses for 2021, while Trump International Golf Club Limited, parent of another course in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, reported another £697,000 ($853,000) in pre-tax losses.
The figures were revealed Thursday in delayed filings, and according to SLC Turnberry, whose directors are listed as Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., the U.K.’s departure from the European Union is to blame.
Trump initially lauded Brexit as a probable boon for his business in 2016, having said that "when the pound goes down, more people are coming to Turnberry, frankly".
But Brexit has impacted the resort’s pool of staff, the new filing states, "with lack of access to European staff for businesses in general resulting in greater demand for the individuals previously available to the resort."
Supply chains were also affected by Brexit and fewer drivers were available, the document states, "reducing deliveries and the availability of certain product lines. Prices have increased from additional freight and import duty charges.”
The filings also partly blamed COVID-19, noting that the U.K.’s response to COVID-19 resulted in a three-month closure of the resort at the beginning of 2021. The documents state they returned to pre-COVID trading levels shortly after due to “staycation” tourists unable to travel abroad.
The U.K. government gave the companies operating each golf course just over £1 million in total in COVID payroll support.
Financial problems continue
Trump bought his Turnberry golf resort in 2014 from a Dubai-based company for $60 million; it is now used for Open Championships and has a five star hotel and spa. The Trump International Golf Club was built from scratch after Trump purchased 1,400 acres of land in 2006 and promised that it would be “The world’s best golf course.”
That’s not quite gone to plan, however. Turnberry has never turned a profit since it was acquired by the Trump family, and its turnover more than halved between 2019 and 2020. It recorded a loss of more than £3 million in 2020 and in the same year, his course in Aberdeenshire recorded a loss of £1.3 million.
Golf Recreation Scotland Limited, the holding company that owns SLC Turnberry and lists Eric Trump as its sole director, lost £14.7 million in 2021, mostly due to foreign currency exchange losses.
All this simply adds to Trump’s other significant financial woes revealed in the tax returns he was forced to release in December 2022.
