Very smart businessman and US Apprentice star Donald Trump has seen his Scottish golf course report an annual loss for the 11th consecutive year.
Pre-tax figures for the Aberdeenshire course reveal a £1.4m deficit for 2023, up from £738,344 the previous year.
Losses now total over £16m for Trump International Golf Club Scotland Limited, which also operates a country house hotel, shop, bar, and restaurant.
Despite the gloom, Trump International Scotland actually saw turnover climb significantly from £3.59m to £37.4m last year, according to latest accounts submitted with Companies House.
Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr are sole directors for the company, with Donald Sr and his wife Ivanka both resigning their directorships in January 2017 after Trump became US president.
A board statement said: “The company once again successfully increased sales across all revenue streams, with the most robust growth from retail and food and beverage.
“The year saw a sizeable increase in tournament and marketing expenditures, which we expect will deliver elevated levels of revenue performance in 2024 and beyond, as well as an abnormal increase in energy costs which impacted all industries nationwide.”
“Substantial investment continues to be made by the business to develop its long-term strategic growth.”
The statement highlighted the fact that the course had played host to the PGA Seniors Championship last August: “Hosting events of this magnitude has significantly raised the profile and reputation of the business and requires increased expenditures for tournament staging, event facilities and tournament specific marketing,” it said. “Ownership remain steadfastly committed to their vision for the property and confidently foresee a positive fiscal improvement as the impact of the investment activities flow through in the medium and longer term. “
There was better news for the Trump family’s other Scottish golf course, the Turnberry Resort in Ayrshire, which saw pre-tax profits up from £186,261 to £3.8m in 2023, although turnover slipped slightly from £21.82m to £21.1m over the same period. 2023 marks the second consecutive year that the business has reported a profit after seven years of losses.
A statement approved by the board said: “Continual investment from the owners in the resort, and in particular, the championship golf courses, will ensure our continued growth into 2024 onwards in the luxury market.”
