NI hotels groups bounce back from pandemic impacts

The Galgorm Collection, Andras House and Hastings Hotels had combined profits of more than £22m in 2022

Northern Ireland's major hotel groups bounced back strongly from the impacts of the pandemic, company filings show.

The Galgorm Collection, Andras House and Hastings Hotels had combined profits of more than £22m in 2022.

That compares to about £3.7m in 2021 when hospitality businesses were badly disrupted by public health restrictions.

Official data published earlier this year showed hotels in NI sold 3.75m beds in 2022.

That was not a full recovery compared to the last pre-pandemic year in 2019 when 3.95m beds were sold.

The latest company data from the Galgorm Collection shows its turnover more than doubled from £22.7m in 2021 to £45.1m in 2022. Pre-tax profits were up from £3.2m to £7.6m

The Galgorm Collection's core business is the Galgorm resort near Ballymena. Its other properties include The Rabbit in Templepatrick.

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Earlier filings from Andras House and Hastings Hotels showed a similar picture.

Turnover at Andras House jumped from £7.8m to £29.4m and a pre-tax loss of £222,000 turned into a profit of £8.8m.

The Andras House portfolio includes the Crowne Plaza in south Belfast and the Holiday Inn in the city centre.

The business also has an office portfolio but the hotels account for the vast majority of its turnover.

Turnover at Hastings Hotels rose from £28m to £43m while pre-tax profit jumped from £680,000 to £6.2m.

Its properties include the Europa and Grand Central in Belfast. In 2021 it sold the Slieve Donard in County Down to a US firm.