Burhill Team News May 2022
Colin Mayes Chief Executive By the time you read this, we will be in June and well and truly off to the busy summer trading period. As I have mentioned previously the whole group is trading well and slightly ahead of our original plan that we agreed with our General Managers and Directors at the end of last year. To date, all sections of our business have been trading well, golf is having a particularly good time with strong membership renewals and the recent investment in upgrading many of our driving ranges really helping to drive more activity at all our golf venues. I am also delighted to see that food & beverage revenue is also starting to recover from the depth of the Covid period last year. Adventure Leisure has also had a very strong start to the year for the first four months January to April, but this month we have started to see some signs that our customers are starting to hold back their leisure spending which could well impact upon us as we begin another round of school holidays. You will have read and heard the inflation busting news that is now showing inflation at record levels +9% and some financial analysts are predicting inflation will actually rise over 10% by the time we reach July / August.
Trying to keep on top of all the cost price increases we are dealing with is putting a huge strain on our finance, purchasing and admin support teams. We should also remember that we are not alone in dealing/coping with this. I also believe that supply issues will be with us well into next year caused by two key issues, all of which are outside of our own direct control. First being the Covid pandemic, which is still massively affecting the delivery of produce from the Middle and Far Eastern markets and now more recently the terrible war in Ukraine. I am a great believer in only worrying about the things you can control and not wasting time or energy on things that you can have no influence over. So, with that in mind our leadership team has been trying to support our businesses and General Managers on focussing each business on being the best in their local markets. Making sure we are maintaining our facilities and keeping them spotlessly clean for both our members and all our visitors to enjoy. If our members and customers have a great time whilst they are with us, they will tell their friends and family and our repeat business will keep growing.