Britannia: Millionaire ‘Asylum King’ hotel tycoon rakes in the cash
The millionaire hotel tycoon dubbed the ‘Asylum King’ is still raking in the cash despite his Britannia chain being ranked the worst in the UK.
Alex Langsam founded Britannia Hotels in 1976 after opening his first site in Manchester.
Langsam remains the company’s chief executive and largest shareholder while his empire also extends to budget holiday camp chain, Pontins.
That empire – now operates more than 60 sites across the UK – has become well known in recent years for being the previous government’s go-to hotel chain for housing asylum seekers, and being rated the worst in the UK for more than a decade.
Now, new accounts filed late for Britannia Hotels with Companies House have revealed sales at the chain increased from £154.7m to £162.4m in the 12 months to 31 March, 2024.
The Cheshire business also made a pre-tax profit of £31.3m in the year, down from the record £39.3m it achieved in the prior period.
Among Britannia’s sites are the Adelphi in Liverpool – which was used by passengers on the Titanic – and the Grand in Scarborough.
Britannia Hotels hails ‘credible performance’
Britannia Hotels said the rise in its sales “represents a credible performance achieved during a period of difficult trading conditions which continues to limit opportunities for growth.”
It added: “Our priorities continue to be maintaining occupancy levels and to manage operating costs whilst ensuring that the business is well placed to exploit the opportunities of the future.”
During the year, the average number of people employed by the company rose from 2,365 to 2,452.
On its future, Britannia Hotels said: “The directors remain confident that the company is in a good position to meet the challenges and opportunities of the future.
“The hotels have managed to maintain their competitive edge through the economic downturn and continue to take steps designed to attract new business and improve market share going forward.
“The directors have carefully considered the availability of working capital and likely levels of trading over the next 12 months.
“They are confident that the business is well placed to meet any challenges that might arise.”