The group has posted a turnover of £49.2m in its latest set of accounts for the year ending 31 January 2017, up by 13 per cent on a year earlier. Around £28.1m of this came from the UK with the rest provided by the Caribbean. Pure Leisure Group has holiday and leisure parks across the UK while its flagship site is Royal Westmoreland, a luxury golf resort in Barbados.
The results also show that the Carnforth-headquartered group’s pre-tax profits jumped by 224 per cent to £6.6m in 2016/17. And underlying operating profits rose by 108 per cent to £7.1m.
During the year, Pure Leisure Group acquired 100 per cent of Primrose Bank Caravan Park for £1.4m. The company also bought the remaining 20 per cent shareholding in Tydd St Giles Golf and Leisure Complex for £0.4m, and purchased the remaining 20 per cent stake in Tydd St Giles Lodge Developments for £0.1m.
In their report accompanying the accounts, the board said that the UK holiday parks all reported an increase in turnover, while turnover at Royal Westmoreland “remained strong and consistent with the prior year” despite a reduction in the number of property sales.
Trevor White, director of corporate affairs at Pure Leisure Group, said: “The staycation market in the UK is very strong at the moment. I think there’s a lot of uncertainty about Brexit, and the pound has struggled, so holidaymakers are staying in the UK because it takes away a lot of uncertainty.
“Royal Westmoreland has slowed a little because of Brexit uncertainty, but of course for buyers in dollars it’s a great time to buy.
“We’re very happy with the financial results because it enables us to continue to reinvest going forward.”
Pure Leisure Group is wholly owned by Preston-born entrepreneur John Morphet. Morphet started life as a farmer but made his fortune in the leisure business, founding South Lakeland Caravans in 1988 and Pure Leisure Group in 2004.
