THE Gleneagles Hotel has seen a £1 million increase in turnover to £36.7m, with the 3% rise attributed to improved revenue from restaurants, bars and leisure activities.
The Perthshire resort has a spa, horse-riding, shooting and falconry among the options for guests while its eating facilities include the Michelin-starred Andrew Fairlie restaurant.
Room sales were "broadly level" in the 12 months to June 30, 2012, with pre-tax profits coming in at £591,000, which was a small decline from the £595,000 of the previous year.
The five-star hotel, owned by Diageo, saw its operating costs tick upwards from £35.2m to £36.2m.
Much of that extra expenditure was due to preparations for the Ryder Cup in September next year.
David Kemp, finance director, said: "The profit-and-loss account included costs of £405,000 to complete the final changes to the PGA Centenary Course, including redesigns of the ninth and 18th holes.
"In addition, capital costs included the installation of the hi- tech Sub Air system on the PGA Centenary Course greens to improve drainage.
"We have been delighted with the extremely positive feedback we have received from members, guests, visitors and professional golfers alike on these developments."
Mr Kemp said the board – which includes former VisitScotland chairman Peter Lederer and long- serving Gleneagles managing director Patrick Elsmie – was pleased with the "financial progress" made as the economic environment continues to present a challenging backdrop.
He said: "We were pleased the proportion of business from outside the UK increased by 4% in the year.
"Our priority as a business is to retain the very highest quality of facilities and service levels, throughout all economic conditions
"We recognise there is a cost to achieving this, but believe such expenditure puts Gleneagles in the best position for the long term."
Marketing and promotional spending was steady at £1.6m while staff costs increased from £14.8m to £15.2m.
The average number of staff dipped slightly from 858 to 851 with full-time numbers down from 629 to 610 and part-time rising from 229 to 241.
Directors' remuneration dipped from £479,000 to £374,000 with the highest paid seeing their package fall from £282,000 to £215,000.
Mr Kemp indicated there had been an improvement in trading since the year-end and the hotel was committed to investing in improvements ahead of the Ryder Cup. He said: "We are currently experiencing a small upswing in business volumes and we continue to invest in the business.
"Priorities for the current year include further investment in all of our golf courses and in infrastructure for the Ryder Cup; an exciting £4.5m refurbishment of our Club leisure pool facilities; and ongoing rolling room refurbishments."
The PGA Centenary course – one of three championship standard courses to be found at Gleneagles – will host the Ryder Cup with the European team captained by Paul McGinley and the US team led by Tom Watson.
Gleneagles was built in 1924 by The Caledonian Railway Company. The hotel was nationalised along with the railway system in 1948.
It was taken into private hands in 1981 then bought by drinks firm Bells.
Diageo has owned Gleneagles since the merger of Guinness and Grand Metropolitan in 1997.
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