Chris Wayne-Wills, chief executive of Crerar Hotels, said continued investment would reap benefits for the Scottish chain as it recovers from the hangover of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The group invested £2.5 million in two of its hotels and increased staff wages by £1.6 million in the 12 months to the end of March last year.

It was able to cut its pre-tax loss from £2m in 2021 to £831,000 as rising numbers of vistors helped turnover increase from £5.49m to £14.46m.

Mr Wayne-Wills said the group had invested heavily in its portfolio.

“The benefits of our investment strategy are clearly on track,” he said. “The hangover of the impact of Covid-19 continued to affect the industry’s ability to trade as normal, however, we have still emerged in a considerably stronger position than the previous year while committing some £4.72m to capital expenditure and £1.6m to remuneration to expand our teams.

“Our unwavering commitment to investment in our portfolio and our talent has put us in the best possible position for continued success and recovery.”

He said the current financial year would continue to bring a new set of challenges but remains confident that Crerar Hotels is in a strong position to navigate these.

He said: “We have witnessed the pandemic ravaging many hospitality businesses and the covid impact hangover remains in some sectors.

“At Crerar Hotels we have continued to focus on our investment in our people and our hotels. We retain our excellent future potential, our dynamism, vibrancy and innovation to deliver sustained recovery and to support wider economic objectives such as vital jobs, growth and investment in the heart of our economy and communities.

“We are confident in the future and committed to nurturing talent, investing in our portfolio and playing our part in ensuring Scotland remains front-of-mind as a world-class destination.”