Accor: Novotel, Pullman Mercure hotels return to the black as profit jumps at Ibis
The company behind Accor’s Novotel, Pullman and Mercure brands in the UK returned to the black in 2023 while profit jumped its Ibis division, it has been revealed.
Newly-filed results for both divisions have revealed a significant jump in their turnover and profit for their latest financial years.
The accounts, filed with Companies House, also show that their occupancy rates and revenue per room also climbed in the 12-month period.
Accor UK Business & Leisure Hotels, which runs sites under the Novotel, Pullman, Mercure brands, posted a turnover of £282.3m, up from £239.5m.
It also returned to making a pre-tax profit with a total of £12m after having reported a pre-tax loss of £9.1m in the prior 12 months.
During the year the average number of people employed by the division jumped from 1,558 to 1,778.
It also paid a dividend of £20m to its parent company. A dividend was not paid by the Ibis arm.
As of the end of 2023, the division operated 28 hotels in the UK with 5,587 bedrooms.
Its occupancy rate rose from 70.93 per cent to 79.89 per cent in 2023 while the net average room rate also grew from £128.14 to £136.29.
Sales and profit rise for Accor’s Ibis hotel chain
Accor UK Economy Hotels achieved a turnover of £251.8m for the year, up from £218.2m, while its pre-tax profit jumped from £23m to £36.2m.
The company’s turnover from its rooms rose from £195.3m to £224.4m and from £19.1m to £22.7m for food and beverages.
During the year the average number of people employed by the division also increased from 1,077 to 1,119.
As of the end of 2023, the division owned or leased 61 hotels with 9,400 bedrooms.
Its occupancy rate increased from 74.15 per cent to 77.37 per cent in 2023 while the net average room rate also went up from £76.20 to £84.37.
The results for 2023 come after both divisions’ parent company sold 18 hotels in exchange for three real estate of hotels it already operated in May this year.
As part of the deal, Accor UK Economy disposed of eight businesses and transferred the interest of Ibis Heathrow to its subsidiary.
For the same financial year, the wider Accor group reported a revenue of €5bn, up from €4.2bn in 2022.
For the first half of 2024, the wider Accor group recorded revenue of €2.677bn, up 11 per cent compared to the first half of 2023.
Its group EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) also totalled €504m, up 13 per cent.