Latest news with #CromlixHouse
The Herald Scotland
04-06-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Andy Murray hotel cited as Scots hotels shine in April
The performance defied wider trends across the UK which saw profits and room rates fall, according to the latest RSM Hotels Tracker. The report highlighted the appeal of the luxury hotel offer in Scotland, and cited investment in prestigious destinations such as Cromlix, Sir Andy and Kim Murray's luxury hotel near Dunblane. 'Scotland's hotel sector was hit with a double whammy in April as hoteliers battled with a rise in employment costs combined with deflationary pressure on room rates. However, they still managed to offset the increase in employment costs and generate a rise in profits, against the downward trend seen in the wider UK market, which saw a fall in daily rates and loss of profits,' said Stuart McCallum, partner and head of consumer markets in Scotland at RSM UK. 'Despite last month's bump, and higher overheads in April, it seems the industry is managing these cost pressures well while maintaining its large workforce. Much of Scotland's hotel footfall comes from international tourists seeking luxury stays, with hotels continuing to invest in their facilities and services to offer visitors a range of experiences including fine dining, whisky tasting and bespoke packages. 'We've seen a shift in behaviour from tourists visiting Scotland as they trade up their accommodation for more high-end stays, with hoteliers mirroring this trend to focus on quality over cost-cutting. Sites such as Cromlix House and The Glenturret have enhanced their offerings with exclusive whisky tastings, excursions and private dining, which aside from boosting Scotland's economy outside of Edinburgh, will grow revenue and compensate for extra payroll costs.' Read more: Data compiled and produced by Hotstats and analysed by RSM show hotel payroll costs, as a percentage of revenue, in Scotland increased from 31.7% to 32.4% in April year-on-year, and from 31.6% to 33.3% in the UK. Average daily rates (ADR) of occupied rooms in Scotland increased from £125.57 to £126.33 in April year-on-year, but fell in the UK from £138.29 to £137.54 during the same period. Increased demand meant revenue per available room (RevPAR) rose 3.8% year-on-year to £97.12 in Scotland, and by 3% in the UK. Scotland also saw gross operating profits rise from 28.2% in April 2024 to 30.3% in April 2025. However, UK RevPAR was not enough to offset the increase in costs, with gross operating profits dipping from 31.8% to 30.1%. Thomas Pugh, economist at RSM UK, said: 'The RSM Hotels Tracker backs up two trends that we have seen elsewhere in the economy. First, the disruption from US tariffs and subsequent surge in uncertainty last month doesn't seem to have stopped consumers from spending money. Indeed, we saw stronger retail sales, hotel bookings and pub spending in April. This is probably a reflection of UK households' real incomes rising strongly over the past few years and, ultimately, that is a bigger driver of UK consumer spending than US trade tariffs. 'Second, even though headline CPI inflation jumped to 3.5% in April, this was almost entirely down to utility, tax rises and the late Easter. We saw little evidence of firms passing on the increase in employment taxes and that is backed up by the data for hotels. 'Admittedly, the economy will weaken in Q2 and is now facing a series of headwinds, including tariffs, uncertainty, higher taxes and slower global growth, which it wasn't facing at the start of the year. That means growth will probably come in around the same as last year at a little over 1%. But the signs suggest that consumers are getting a bit more comfortable with opening their wallets, which will be a strong tailwind to offset all those headwinds.'
Irish Daily Mirror
18-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Daily Mirror
Inside Andy Murray's staggering net worth and how he's made his millions
Sir Andy Murray has been listed as one of the UK's wealthiest sportspeople in the latest Sunday Times Rich List 2025. The retired tennis star, who ended his career at the Paris Olympics last year, features on the '40 Under 40' list, which ranks the richest individuals in Britain under the age of 40. His impressive net worth of £110 million places him joint 35th on the list, with his wealth increasing by £10 million over the past year. It's hardly a shock to see Murray's vast fortune, given that he earned nearly £52 million in winnings during his successful career, where he clinched three major titles and two Olympic gold medals. However, Murray's wealth isn't solely derived from his tennis career; he and his wife Kim have made several astute business decisions in recent years, reports Wales Online. Together, they own the luxurious five-star Cromlix House hotel near Murray's hometown of Dunblane in Scotland, where they hosted their wedding reception in 2015 after tying the knot at the town's cathedral. The couple snapped up the hotel two years ago for a cool £1.8 million, with Murray's brother Jamie tying the knot there and his grandparents marking their anniversaries at the same spot. Boasting 34 acres of private land and woodlands, the plush hotel features 10 bedrooms, five suites, a one-bedroom lodge, not to mention its own chapel, tennis court, pickleball court, and a top-notch restaurant helmed by an acclaimed chef. Originally built as a Victorian mansion, it has been in the Drummond family for generations and was managed by a company until December 2022, when the Murrays took the reins of the establishment. Following a lavish makeover, the hotel now ranks among Scotland's most exclusive getaways, with stays ranging from £350 to £950 per night, as listed on KAYAK. While Andy Murray winds down his tennis days and surprisingly joins Novak Djokovic's coaching squad, Kim is lauded as the "creative force" behind the hotel, actively influencing its style and ambiance. Kim, who once mulled over art college and ran a pet portrait venture called Brushes and Paws, has no official interior design training, yet she shared her creative journey with Country Living magazine. "We'd finished having children and we'd finished building our house, so it seemed the perfect time," she confided to the magazine, sharing the trials and tribulations of hotel management. "Having little kids has been all-consuming. "Renovating the hotel has enabled me to come out of motherhood and create something different. I think of it as a family project. Maybe in 15 years, the kids will be interested in it. I want to see where it takes us." After bagging the AA Hotel of the Year award for Scotland, Murray posted a sweet shoutout to his missus on social media, expressing pride over her tremendous effort. The sportsman shared a snap of Kim holding the trophy and cheekily remarked on Instagram: "At least someone in the family can still win stuff. Congrats to my wife and all the team @cromlixhotel for winning the AA Hotel of the year award for Scotland." But the journey hasn't been a walk in the park, with the hotel recording yet another hefty loss during the last financial cycle. In a March report by CityAM, it surfaced that the business chalked up losses of £369,045 for the period ending March 2024. Although the figure is a worrying loss, it is less severe than the prior year's shortfall, when the hotel was down by a staggering £919,572. The last time the establishment saw profit was in 2022, boasting earnings of £416,442. Elsewhere, the dynamic duo recently celebrated the debut of their hotel's exclusive gin brand, infused with botanicals found right on the estate grounds. Tennis legend Andy Murray has joined forces with craft gin maker Wildfire Gin to launch Cromlix Gin, featuring botanicals like raspberry leaf and milk thistle from his hotel garden, using water sourced directly from the grounds. Murray, who also holds a stake in sportswear brand Castore, known for kitting out Everton and Newcastle United, has worked with them to create his own AMC clothing line. "I'd wanted to set up my own apparel brand for a long time," the tennis star shared about his venture with Castore, which became his official kit partner in 2019. "I felt there was a clear gap in the market for stylish tennis wear and so, with my team, we identified Castore as a brand that could help me deliver something I felt really proud of. "I like the fact that they are a British brand, set up by two brothers, and that sustainability is important to them. I think the most important thing is to be true to who you are. If a brand partnership doesn't feel genuine, people can quite quickly see through that and it just doesn't work."
