THE COMPANY behind luxury Perthshire hotel Gleneagles saw pre-tax profits plummet from £505,000 to £55,000 in the year to December 2018, with the business recording a loss of almost £1.4 million on the disposal of fixed assets during the year.

Despite turnover at Gleneagles Hotels Limited rising by 8 per cent to £55.3m, profits were also hit by the interest payments on a loan the business took out during the previous year rising from £1.3m to £1.7m.

It is understood that the loan, which must be repaid in full by February 2022, was taken out to pay for refurbishment works at the hotel. At the end of the year there was £66.5m outstanding on the loan, up from £66.3m at the previous year-end.

Gleneagles Hotel has been owned by London-based hospitality business Ennismore since 2015, when it acquired it from Diageo.

Ennismore is run by Indian entrepreneur Sharan Pasricha, the son-in-law of Sunil Bharti Mittal, one of India’s richest men. Bharti Overseas Private, which is part of Mr Mittal’s vast business empire, is the ultimate parent company of Gleneagles Hotels Limited.

The hotel was charged £2m by Ennismore during the year for “management and other services”, up from £1.9m in 2017. At the end of 2018 close to £700,000 of that year’s bill was still outstanding.