Galgorm’s owners took £10m pandemic hit
The Tullymore Group, which counts the Galgorm Hotel, Resort and Spa among its properties, saw sales drop by almost £10m to £16.5m its latest financial results have shown.
Accounts covering the year up until October 31, 2020, showed a turnover of £16.5m, down 38% on 2019’s £26.8m.
The group, whose subsidiaries include Galgorm Manor Hotel Limited, Fratelli (Belfast) Ltd, Fratelli (Ormeau Road) Limited and Pig and Chicken Inn Limited, also saw pre-tax profits dip by over £2m to £1.7m.
Despite the fall in profits the group its employees increased by four staff members to 593 and it pressing on with redevelopment plans, notably at The Old Inn on Crawfordsburn and at the former Holy Rosary church on Belfast’s Ormeau Road.
Responding to the latest figures, Tiarnán O’Neill, group finance director, told the Belfast Telegraph: “2020 was an extraordinary year, unlike any other that our business has faced in more than three decades.
“Despite the impact of several periods of prolonged, forced closure across all Galgorm Collection properties, we are pleased with our overall performance. Galgorm has continued to maintain a strong financial position which underpins our growth and investment plans.
‘Long-term investment’
“During this period, the furlough scheme was a lifeline for our team and the wider hospitality industry and enabled us to continue looking forward to delivering on our long-term investment plans for the wider Collection.
“Despite the obvious challenges, during this period we continued to focus on investing and enhancing our business and growing our team.
“This encompassed two significant new acquisitions including the former Templeton Hotel, Templepatrick and The Old Inn, Crawfordsburn as well as the roll out of multi-million pound refurbishments across both properties.
“We are pleased to end the period in a robust position, and we look forward to further building on our growing success in the coming year which includes rolling out a £10m investment to significantly enhance Galgorm Resort as part of a wider £30m project.
“We pay particular tribute to the hard work and dedication of our people and their commitment to our business in delivering a world-class tourism offering.”
The results were published just weeks after the group it is to spend £10m on new accommodation and thermal spa facilities at the Galgorm Resort and Spa, creating 50 new jobs in the process.
In April 2019, the group bought the Templeton Hotel at Templepatrick, renamed the venue The Rabbit Hotel & Retreat and in April this year it bought The Old Inn, as first reported by LCN.
