By Ian McConnell
BUCCLEUCH has posted operating profits of £4.472 million for the year to last October, having made losses of £6.81m in the prior 12 months as the coronavirus pandemic weighed on its commercial property and hospitality revenues.
MDS Estates, the parent company of the Duke of Buccleuch’s estates, agriculture forestry, commercial property and renewable energy group, raised turnover to £93.025m in the 12 months to October 31 from £48.667m in the prior financial year.
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Benny Higgins, executive chairman of Buccleuch, said: “Despite the distinct challenges brought by the global pandemic over the last couple of years, Buccleuch is faring well, with the annual accounts…reporting an underlying operating profit of £4m. This is a marked improvement on the previous year and one Buccleuch’s strategy aims to replicate over the coming years.”
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He added: “Each of Buccleuch’s diverse enterprises performed well in often difficult and testing circumstances.”
Mr Higgins declared the challenges of the past two years were now being followed by a “very uncertain economic outlook due primarily to extraordinary national and international circumstances, which may well continue for some time”.
He added: “We will tread cautiously as we navigate the global effects of inflation and interest-rate rises, conscious that these will have an impact on our colleagues, customers and communities.”
Mr Higgins said Buccleuch’s commercial property enterprise “significantly contributed to the overall profit...with the team being well positioned to monitor and react to emerging market trends”.
He noted Buccleuch’s agriculture and forestry enterprises saw the benefit of stronger-than-anticipated livestock and timber markets, and that holiday accommodation on the Queensberry and Borders estates had benefited from an increase in “staycations”.
Buccleuch’s profit after tax was £37m in the year to last October, compared with £64.77m in the prior 12 months.
The group noted: “While profit after tax is reported as £37m within the financial statements, this primarily reflects an accounting requirement to revalue rural property assets on an annual basis, rather than underlying performance.”
Asked about the reasons for the loss in the year to October 2020, a spokesman for Buccleuch said: “In the case of commercial property, the company agreed rental terms with tenants to aid them through the uncertainty and there was a downturn in overall receipts.
“At Restoration Yard in Dalkeith Country Park, which includes a significant retail and hospitality business, trading was either non-existent or heavily impacted by the pandemic.”
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