Donald Trump’s Scottish Golf Course Turnberry made its first profit ever after nearly a decade under turbulent ownership by the ex-US President.
According to newly filed accounts, Trump Turnberry in Ayrshire, a resort of 800 acres with three golf courses, a hotel and other amenities, earned £571,000 profit in 2022.
The company’s profit is up from the £3.7m it lost the year before. It is also the first time since Mr Trump bought the resort in 2014 for $60m that the company has been profitable.
Separate accounts revealed mounting losses on the former president’s Scottish golf course months after it was discovered that he had inflated its value.
Trump International Golf Club Scotland (which owns an Aberdeen resort) posted a loss in 2022 of over £738,000. This compares with a loss in 2021 of £697,000.
Even though sales of golf green fees and memberships, as well as hotel services, accommodation, and other hotel-related products, increased, the losses were still substantial.
A New York judge last year ruled that Donald Trump and his company are liable for “false value” of the Aberdeen golf course. This was part of a larger judgement which found that he misrepresented his wealth hundreds of millions dollars.
The value of Trump International was over £160m, according to prosecutors.
Mr Trump denied all wrongdoing, and called the legal case “a witch hunt”.
Before he entered the White House, Mr Trump resigned from his position as director of golf courses in Scotland. Donald Jr. and Eric Trump are listed as the sole directors of his golf courses in Scotland, but The Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust is the ultimate owner.
SLC Turnberry’s accounts show that revenues increased from £13m in 2011 to nearly £22m. The company didn’t pay tax on its profit because it carried over losses from previous years.
Golf Recreation Scotland (the immediate parent company of Turnberry Resort) is overdue in releasing its accounts. This business suffered losses of £14.7m by 2021.
The directors said Turnberry’s owner remained “fully commited” to the resort, and that future plans will enhance its reputation as Scotland’s “premier location for luxury travel and championship golf”.
The first profit is a big boost for Turnberry after The Open organisers said that the course will not be considered a host while Mr Trump remains the owner. Turnberry hosted the oldest golf tournament in the world four times.
Trump International opened in Aberdeen, Scotland in 2012. It was built on 2,050 acres of land that overlooked the North Sea. Mr Trump said it would be “the world’s greatest golfcourse”.
The course owes Mr Trump a large amount of money, almost £48m in interest-free loans.
Trump International is often at the center of controversy.
Environmental campaigners were against the plans to build the course, citing concerns that its construction could cause havoc on the sand dunes. Since then, the dunes no longer qualify as an environmental protected site.
Mr Trump had originally promised to invest £1bn at the resort of Balmedie and create 800 new jobs. The resort only employed 81 people by the end of 2022.
has previously blamed Brexit on the woes of golf course managers, citing issues with supply chains and difficulties in hiring staff due to a lack access to European workers.
The golf courses of Mr Trump, who together received over £1m from the government through Covid, also blamed their problems on inflation and rising energy prices.
Trump, despite his financial troubles, has laid out plans for a second course to be built in Aberdeenshire. The new MacLeod golf course will be named in honor of his mother Mary Anne MacLeod Trump.
Mr Trump visited Scotland last year to open the site, marking his first trip outside of the US after being indicted by the New York court on charges of executing a hush-money scheme to silence accusations of extramarital affair.
Two pipers, red carpets and a motorcade of 10 vehicles greeted the former president and son Eric at Aberdeen Airport from their private jet.
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