CRIEFF Hydro has seen a six per cent rise in turnover during its most recent financial year and is positioned for further growth as a number of acquisitions begin to bed in.

Annual accounts filed at Companies House this week will show revenue growing from £17.7 million to £18.85m in the 12 months to February 28.

Underlying profit before exceptional costs rose 4.8 per cent to £663,615. However on a pre-tax basis the figure fell from £633,145 to £507,864 as a result of the costs incurred through its acquisition of Peebles Hydro and the Park Hotel in the borders town - from McMillan Hotels.

Crieff Hydro chief executive Stephen Leckie said: "Our operating profit was up but because we bought the Peebles Hydro company a lot of costs went through (as well as) due diligence in the build up to buying Peebles."

Along with that there were other costs as a result of a deal to manage a portfolio of four hotels through the subsidiary Freedom Hotels (Management).

Those hotels - The Yorkshire Hotel in Harrogate, The Ballachulish Hotel near Fort William, The Isles of Glencoe Hotel and the Oban Caledonian Hotel - have a combined capacity of more than 250 rooms.

Crieff Hydro said it had seen a three per cent rise in its average room rate during the financial year which had helped to increase the yield from each room by seven per cent.

Investment in revenue management tools along with targeted sales and marketing activity were given as the reasons for the uplift in those metrics.

Its customer profile remains 70 per cent leisure with about 30 per cent coming from corporate guests.

Mr Leckie said about 40 per cent of its bookings are now taken online and that figure is still growing.

Capital spending in the year was more than £1.7m, which included the opening of a family-friendly food outlet called Piccolo and an aerial adventure course.

There was also a rolling programme of refurbishment of bedrooms, self-catering properties and staff facilities.

Mr Leckie said: "We will continue to spend around £1.5m every year back into the fabric of the buildings, maintaining four and five-star status.

"We can't afford to stop doing that in any year."

A sustained period of major investment in the Peebles properties is also planned and Mr Leckie indicated he is pleased with how the integration has gone so far.

He said: "We have taken on a raft of new senior and clever people who are very able and good at what they do.

"Some months we have grown occupancy by 20 per cent and revenue by the same. In some months it has been pretty static but we are turning it around.

"We know we need to spend about £1m a year, across the Park Hotel and Peebles Hydro, for the foreseeable future. Certainly the next five years and possibly the next 10 years."

He pointed out a project to put in new tarmac, drainage, lighting and signage will be completed at Peebles Hydro by Easter at a cost of about £300,000.

The addition of the managed hotels portfolio took the company's hotel room stock to 644, up from 236 at the end of 2013.

It also has 55 self-catering outlets with a further 137 bedrooms.

Mr Leckie said trading so far in the current financial year is running about seven per cent ahead.

He added: "We are really pleased with the performance of all the hotels we have taken on and are excited about investing in them. We have had a great year (so far) in part due to the Commonwealth Games and Ryder Cup and Scotland being in great shape and tourism in Scotland being well-led by VisitScotland.

"All these things help and make a difference."

Across Crieff and Peebles, the company employs around 770 people.