Clayton and Maldron owners not being hampered by Brexit
The Dalata Hotel Group has said it has seen no negative effect on trading levels from ongoing Brexit uncertainty.
The largest Irish hotel group, which owns the Clayton and Maldron chains, added that trading in the final four months of the year has been as expected and that group earnings for the year will be in line with market expectations.
Analysts expect Dalata to report a 12% rise in earnings for this year to around €115m.
On the back of the positive update, Dalata’s share price which was down by 26% in the last year, rose over 1.2%.
“We note the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the final outcome of Brexit. To date, we have seen no negative impact on trading in any of our hotels in the UK or Ireland,” said Dalata’s deputy chief executive Dermot Crowley.
He said early trading indications from recently opened hotels in Dublin, Belfast and Newcastle “are very positive”.
The positive trading impact of hotels opened during 2018 will be significant on a full-year basis in 2019, which in turn will reduce our net debt-to-earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation ratio,” he said.
Mr Crowley also called it prudent for Dalata to have agreed a new €525m debt facility earlier than planned giving it debt funding up to late 2023.
Revenue per available room at the group’s hotels, rose 8.8% in the 11 months to the end of November, versus general market growth of 7.4%. Dalata is on a five-year expansion drive in the UK and is also assessing opportunities for growth in mainland Europe.
