The way a prominent Manchester hotel and country club near Altrincham owned by Matthew Moulding's online retail and software giant THG were impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic has been revealed for the first time.
The scale of how government-imposed restrictions hit both King Street Townhouse Hotel and Hale Country Club has been outlined in new accounts with Companies House for 2021, which have only just been made public.
Accounts for Great John Street Hotel In Manchester, which is also owned by THG, have been filed but the building was closed throughout the year because of the pandemic and a major refurbishment project.
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While THG is a public company and publishes its results on the London Stock Exchange, the figures for its two hotels and the country club have not been published until now.
The two hotels and country club count THG co-founder and chief financial officer John Gallemore as one of their directors.
Both King Street Townhouse Hotel and Great John Street hotel were sold to THG in May 2019 by Eclectic Hotel Group which operates Didsbury House Hotel and Eleven Didsbury Park.
King Street Townhouse Hotel
According to documents filed for King Street Investments Limited, King Street Townhouse Hotel achieved a turnover of £3.7m in 2021, up from the £1.8m it posted in 2020. In the nine-months to December 31, 2019, the hotel made a turnover of £3.8m.
It returned to making a pre-tax profit in 2021 with a surplus of £398,000 after losing more than £2m in the prior year. That came after achieving a profit of £794,000 in the final nine months of 2019.
THG said the results "reflect the hotel re-opening since its closure for the Covid-19 pandemic, boosting trade from the prior year".
On its performance so far in 2022, the company added: "So far, 2022 has seen encouraging demand levels as the UK hospitality industry emerges from the end of Covid-19 restrictions which is positive when comparable to the global lockdown period in 2021, with results starting in line with expectations.
"The benefit of the lower VAT rate remained in place until April 2022 which aided this.
"The company position in the market and offering to guests remains strong, allowing us to maintain robust sales whilst balancing the impact [of] unprecedented inflationary pressures and the changeable geo-political environment."
Hale Country Club
The country club was acquired by THG in 2016. At the time, the group said the deal was a continuation of its "commitment to substantial investment in infrastructure to support the growth and durability of its core online health and beauty businesses".
In February 2022 plans for an extension were approved by Trafford Council.
The proposals includes an expansion of the club’s car park, a new extension to the ground floor of the building, re-cladding the whole of the outside of the site and a refurbishment for the south terrace.
The update of the south terrace is set to include construction of a new pavilion, pergola, serving area and external toilet facility. The whole site is also set for landscaping.
Plans for a new all weather pitch and football pitch to the north of the site were set to be included in the revamp, but were withdrawn, following objections from nearby residents.
According to the newly-filed accounts for Hale Country Club Limited, the business achieved a turnover of £3.1m in 2021, up from £1.8m in 2020. That compares to a turnover of £4.6m in 2019.
It also made a pre-tax profit of £408,000, a rise from £160,000. In 2019, its profits totalled £609,000.
THG said: "The global Covid-19 pandemic has continued to impact the sector in which the company operates, as the club experienced closures in line with UK lockdown restrictions.
"The lifting of these restrictions in the second half of the year has positively impacted the results of operations in 2021."
Hale Country Club was known to be used by Frank Lampard and his wife Christine Bleakley while the footballer was at Manchester City.
Great John Street Hotel
Great John Street Hotel has been owned by THG since it was acquired from Eclectic Hotel Group in 2019 alongside King Street Townhouse.
It didn't post a turnover for 2021 because it was closed as a result of Covid-19 restrictions and a major refurbishment project.
Set in a grade II-listed building, the hotel's turnover was £449,000 in 2020, down from the £2.9m from the final nine months of 2019.
The hotel did post a pre-tax loss of £5.5m for 2021, however, after also losing £1.2m in 2020. It achieved a profit of £543,000 for the reporting period in 2019.
The refurbishment includes the bedrooms, will see the existing rooftop bar reconfigured, and a new external glass lift shaft installed. There would also be a single storey glass extension on the Little John Street side of the hotel.
THG
Being a public company, THG reports its group financial results earlier than private firms.
Last month, THG revealed it had racked up losses of more than £100m during the first six months of 2022.
The group posted pre-tax losses of £108.1m for the six months to June 30, compared to losses of £81.3m during the same period in 2021.
The figures also show THG's revenue rose to a record £1.07bn during that time, up from £958.8m.
At the time, THG said the results showed "substantial progress as we continue to build a strong, sustainable global platform supporting THG brands and Ingenuity clients".
It added that its record half-year revenue was "underpinned by stable customer behaviour metrics driving market share gains in large beauty and nutrition markets".
Following the update, which was issued to the London Stock Exchange, shares in THG fell by more than 20% in early trading.
In the year to date, shares in THG have fallen by more than 85% and are currently trading at around 33p, the lowest they have ever been.
During the summer the group suffered a major blow when SoftBank abandoned its $1.6bn deal that would have seen the Japanese investment giant take a near 20% stake in a major division of THG.
That decision came after potential buyers of THG walked away in June.
Two investment companies behind a potential £2.07bn takeover bid confirmed they will not make a formal offer for the company.
Belerion Capital and King Street Capital Management made the announcement after they first revealed the unsolicited offer of 170p per share in May.
It was later confirmed that Nick Candy, the property tycoon who was recently involved in a bid to buy Chelsea FC, had also pulled out of a move to takeover THG.
They still have the right to make or participate in an offer for THG within the six months from June.
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