easyHotel is an owner, developer, operator and franchisor of branded hotels. Its strategy is to target the “super budget” segment of the hotel industry and currently has three owned hotels in Old Street (London), Glasgow, and Croydon comprising 390 rooms, and a further 18 franchised hotels across Europe with 1,490 rooms. It has reported sales up 15% and profit up 38% for the year to 30 September 2015.
Commenting on the results, Guy Parsons, Chief Executive Officer said:
“easyHotel continued to perform in line with Board expectations in 2015, demonstrating the strength of the business model, the brand and demand for simple comfort at super budget prices in great locations.
“Since my appointment in August, essential and important operational improvements have been introduced to enhance the efficiency and scalability of our business, and to enable us to identify and develop new sites more quickly, as well as improve our RevPAR performance.
“The scale of opportunity we have in the UK and Europe is larger than was previously thought. Through a mix of owned and franchised hotels and an accelerated pace of openings, I believe that we have the opportunity to establish ourselves as the leading branded super budget hotel chain and create significant value for shareholders and stakeholders.”
Financial Highlights
- Performance in line with Board expectations
- Total system sales* up 15% to £19.95m (2014: £17.33m)
- Profit before tax up 38% to £0.79m (2014: £0.57m)
- Cash from operations of £2.29m (2014: £1.11m), resulting in a cash position of £22.64m
- Basic earnings per share of 1.0 pence (2014: 1.2 pence)
- Proposed maiden final dividend of 0.33 pence per share
* Total system sales is the full amount that the customer pays for the owned and franchised hotels, including initial sign-on fees paid by franchisees to the Company
Business Highlights
- Appointment of new CEO and CFO with proven experience in building successful budget hotel chains
- 21 easyHotels now operating in 14 cities in eight countries with 1,880 rooms (2014: 1,606)
- Owned hotel rooms increased by 103 in the year to 390 following the opening of Croydon
- Acquisition of sites in Manchester (subject to completion) and Liverpool – both hotels are anticipated to open in 2016/2017 financial year
Post year-end developments
- Master Development Partnership signed with MAN Investments for the planned development of over 1,600 rooms in the UAE and Oman by end of 2020
- Benelux franchisee secured planning consent and financing for a 107 room easyHotel Brussels – expected to be opened by early 2017