Tourist stayaway pricks Thistle

12 April 2012

THISTLE, London's largest hotelier, has posted a sharp fall in profits and warned it is still suffering from a dip in tourists to the UK.

The four-star hotel chain, 46%-owned by Singapore-based Brierley Investments, said revenues were likely to be down 10% this year, recovering from the 22% dip in the fourth quarter of last year. 'If the economic news continues to improve and airline passenger numbers continue to grow we will see that translate into better occupancies at our hotels,' said chief executive Ian Burke.

Pre-tax profits fell 28% to £49m, largely in line with City expectations, on sales down 6% at £305.3m. The firm blamed the effects of foot-and-mouth disease, the downturn in the US and the fall-out from 11 September. It held the dividend at 5.1p a share.

Burke said its London hotels, which include the Royal Horseguards, The Tower and The Charing Cross, suffered more than its provincial UK hotels. Revenues had plunged by a quarter in the last three months of 2001. They were down 10% for the first eight weeks of 2002.

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