London’s economy is booming and nowhere more so than in the glitzy hotels of Mayfair and Belgravia if profits at the Dorchester group are any guide.
The hotel group, a collection of ten of the world’s most luxurious hotels including the London landmark it is named after, has reported a 5% rise in revenue to a record £304.5m in 2012.
Over the past five years revenue has surged 17.4% as its ultimate owner, the Sultan of Brunei – who is worth an estimated £20bn – has added more hotels to the group.
In the year to 31 December 2012 revenue was boosted by the opening of 45 Park Lane, a 45-room art deco hotel which sits opposite the Dorchester on the former site of London’s Playboy club. In its first full-year of trading in 2012 the five-star hotel contributed to the group’s UK revenues, which increased by £18.8m to £106.6m.
The Sultan’s shopping spree continued in September when the group paid an estimated €105m (£89m) for the 121-room Hotel Eden in Rome, which counts Hollywood stars Tom Cruise and Mel Gibson amongst its guests.
The 45 Park Lane joins the group’s two other UK properties – the Dorchester and Coworth Park, a country-house hotel in Ascot.
Operating profits from the three hotels rose four-fold to £15.5m compared to a £1.3m loss from the group’s hotel in Milan and its two in Paris.
Although average occupancy at the group’s hotels remained flat at 69% in 2012, the average room rate was up £10 to £518.
It is nearly four times the 2012 London average of £138.50 according to research firm Hotstats. The key industry data of revenue per available room also rose by £10 to £359 at the Dorchester group compared to the London average of £112.37.
