Alice and Stephen discuss results for a health club and hotel operator, funding for a tech accessories brand and plans for a new distillery.
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00:00Resorts for a hotel and health club operator, funding for a tech accessories brand and plans
00:05for a new distillery, featuring today's business briefing.
00:08You've got a well-known name from the business community to talk to us about today.
00:17I do, yes.
00:18Health club spa and hotel operator, The Bannertine Group, which is obviously owned by former
00:23Dragon's Den star Duncan Bannertine, has posted some new results which showed an uptick in
00:29profits and turnover.
00:31So the business is actually headquartered in Darlington.
00:33It's got a really nice hotel spa there, but it's got sites across the UK as well, in Ireland
00:38and in Wales.
00:39And it's had, it's safe to say, like a difficult few years following the COVID pandemic with
00:44the lockdowns and everything, as most gym operators did.
00:47But newly filed results for 2024 have shown that in the year, turnover improved to nearly
00:53£150 million with profits of £14.4 million.
00:57Now, this is a significant turnaround from 2022 when profits stood at £1 million.
01:03So they've done really good to kind of bring that back.
01:06And in the year, they said that membership grew and they've also continued to invest in
01:11the clubs.
01:12They're jumping on the paddle trend and they're at the minute building sites at their Stockton
01:19health club.
01:20And they're also building carts in Essex as well.
01:23And I think in the future, that's something they'll look to roll out more widely.
01:27So Duncan Bannertine, who is also the chief executive and the chairman of the company, was obviously really pleased with the results.
01:34He said that they demonstrate what can be achieved when a great team works together to
01:38turn things around.
01:40So overall, really positive picture for them.
01:42Sounds like a really strong year for them.
01:45Well, we've got a really, really interesting funding story as well today.
01:48The news that tech accessories brand, Mouse, has raised £2 million through a crowdfunding
01:52campaign to support its growth brands.
01:55So now, Mouse started out by designing phone cases as it since expanded into areas like wireless
02:01charging, MacBook sleeves, things like that.
02:05The company is backed by James Watt, who's the founder of BrewDog, also by Piper Private
02:10Equity and Channel 4 Ventures.
02:12He's also an official partner of the Mercedes Formula One team.
02:15So you may have seen his products on display over the weekend.
02:18Yeah, probably without even realising.
02:20Well, it launched its campaign on Crowdcube earlier this year.
02:23It was initially seeking £1 million.
02:26It's actually more than doubled that amount.
02:28So really successful raise there.
02:31That's going to be used to support product innovation, building up its inventory.
02:35new categories and expanding its team with the aim of taking the business to the next
02:39level.
02:40So a great story there.
02:41Yeah, especially with such high profile backers, I'm sure there'll be a very positive picture
02:45there.
02:46Well, over in Wales, residential developers are in the spotlight because we have published
02:51our new list of the most profitable property and construction companies in the country.
02:57So the list features in the April and May edition of Wales Business Insider, and it outlines
03:02the top 25 most profitable firms.
03:05And in that list, house builders were actually nine of the list were house builders.
03:12And those include Landmower Homes, which is a family owned company based in Talbot Green.
03:18Now, in its most recently published accounts, the business reported a £2 million pre-tax profit
03:23on turnover of more than £23 million.
03:26Perhaps unsurprisingly, Red Row, the house building giant, which was recently acquired
03:32by Barrett Homes actually was at the top of the list, but also included is Castle Green
03:36Homes, who we've covered quite extensively recently.
03:39They actually spoke to Insider not too long ago about their plans to acquire and build 800
03:45homes per year by 2028.
03:48So, the full list will be published in the April and May edition of Wales Business Insider,
03:53which will be hitting desks very soon.
03:54Obviously, house building is a very important area, it's been in the news a lot lately,
03:58so it's interesting to see those companies doing so well.
04:01Well, lastly today, in our Scotland newsletter, we've got news of a whisky distillery on the
04:06Isle of Skye that submitted plans for major redevelopment.
04:10A 57-degree sky opened in Broadford in 2022, its founders are now seeking permission to
04:16demolish the current distillery and visitor centre, construct a new four-storey hub.
04:22Nice.
04:23Now, that would feature a public cafe and bar area split across two floors, which would
04:27give visitors a view into the workings of the distillery.
04:30Above that, on the upper floors, there would be a tasting area and a performance space to
04:35host events.
04:36Each floor would feature a terrace as well, looking out over to some of the lovely scenery
04:40you've got there on the Isle of Skye.
04:41Yeah, that sounds lovely.
04:42Sounds like a lovely venue.
04:44Interestingly, alongside the actual distillery itself, there are plans for staff accommodation.
04:49They're seeking approval there to build some space to address a shortfall of accommodation
04:55for people who actually work on the Isle of Skye.
04:57So that would provide 12 one-bedroom apartments, and those would be used by distillery staff as
05:01well as for other businesses in the area.
05:03It's a really interesting development there.
05:05Yeah.
05:06And I know you visit Scotland quite often, so maybe a future trip.
05:09We're popping back up to Skye and see what it looks like.
05:11Yeah.
05:12Well, if you want to read more about that story or any of the stories we've discussed
05:15today, you can do so on insidermedia.com.
05:18While you're there, feel free to check out our upcoming events, and you can also subscribe
05:22to our magazines and our daily newsletters.
05:25Thanks for watching.