Butlin’s has recovered from losing almost £75m to return to the black during its latest financial year, it has been revealed.
The holiday resort chain has posted a pre-tax profit of £28.3m for 2024, according to new accounts filed with Companies House.
That comes after Butlin’s fell to a pre-tax loss of £74.2m for 2023.
Butlin’s bottom line was boosted by a major revaluation of its resorts to the tune of tens of millions of pounds. Its pre-tax profit was also supported by a large rise in its operating profit to £41.8m after having made a loss of £60.7m in 2022.
Despite being back in the black, turnover at Butlin’s, which runs sites in Bognor Regis, Minehead and Skegness, fell in 2024 from £292.7m to £287.5m.
In its latest set of accounts, Butlin’s said “the economic backdrop remains challenging” and that “demand for holidays in the UK remained strong despite consumers facing challenging economic conditions across the year”.
In a statement, Butlin’s CEO Jon Hendry Pickup said: “This was a good year for our business as we continued to upgrade our facilities and multi-skill our more than four thousand team members nationwide.
“Against a challenging macroeconomic backdrop characterised by high interest rates and dwindling consumer confidence, we produced a robust performance for 2024, with group revenue and total guest weeks stabilising.
“With Butlin’s turning 90 in 2026, we’re immensely proud of the role we’ve played in so many communities around the country.
“Our priority now is to continue investing in our resorts to ensure Butlin’s guest proposition continues to be attractive for generations to come.”
Rival Haven continues to make huge losses
Butlin’s was sold for £300m towards the end of 2022 to the Harris family, who jointly established Bourne Leisure in 1964.
In September, City AM reported that the group behind Butlin’s rival Haven continued to make huge losses in 2024 despite its turnover jumping by almost £100m.
Bourne Leisure, which is owned by investment giant Blackstone, reported a pre-tax loss of nearly £170m for its latest financial year, having also lost £166.5m in 2023.
However the Hertfordshire-headquartered group’s turnover increased over the same period from £1.05bn to £1.14bn.
Butlin’s boss slams Reeves’ holidays tax
The results have been filed a week after the chief executive of Butlin’s slammed Rachel Reeves for introducing a ‘tax on holidays’ in her Budget.
Jon Hendry Pickup argued that “hospitality businesses like Butlin’s remain caught in the crossfire of the Chancellor’s tax and spend ideology”.
The chief executive was reacting to the ‘tourism tax’ which has been welcomed by a number of mayors across the country.
The Butlin’s chief said: “This Budget once again demonstrates that the government doesn’t appreciate the value private enterprise generates for this country.
“We’ve invested more than £50m over the last two years in our resorts, but hospitality businesses like Butlin’s remain caught in the crossfire of the Chancellor’s tax and spend ideology.
“Last year we had the tax on jobs that limited opportunities in our communities, especially for young people. Now we have a tax on holidays.
“These decisions do nothing to drive growth or jobs for working people who want careers in Skegness, Bognor Regis, or Minehead.”
The news that regional mayors were to be given powers to introduce a tax on overnight stays at hotels, holiday lets and B&Bs were revealed by the government on Tuesday last week.
The levy is to apply equally to UK citizens and foreign travellers on trips around the country
London mayor Sadiq Khan, Liverpool’s Steve Rotherham and Manchester’s Andy Burnham have all supported the new tax.
However the Conservative mayor of Teesside Ben Houchen has publicly spoken out against it.