Liverpool winning the Premier League and big-name concerts at Anfield help push revenues up almost 10% to £40.3m at Crowne Plaza owner Centre Island Hotels but rising costs turns profit into loss. Tony McDonough reports
Just two years after reporting almost £2m in pre-tax profits Liverpool hotels group Centre Island Hotels has reported pre-tax losses of almost £800,000 amid rising costs.
However the company, which owns and operates nine hotels including the Liverpool city centre Crowne Plaza, remains upbeat about its prospects thanks to healthy demand from both leisure and corporate markets.
In accounts for the 12 months to December 31, 2025, posted on Companies House, Centre Island reported an almost 10% rise in revenues to £40.3m. However, a pre-tax profit of £413,916 in 2024 became a pre-tax loss of £785,692 in 2025.
Like many businesses in the leisure sector, Centre Island is having to battle the rising costs of employment (with a further rise in the minimum wage in April set to impact the next set of accounts) as well as higher prices in food and “volatile” energy prices.
Founded in 1995, Centre Island’s first hotel was the Holiday Inn Ellesmere Port. Liverpool’s waterfront Crowne Plaza, one of the most prominent hotels in the city, opened in 1998.
Its other seven hotels are the Holiday Inn Liverpool City Centre, Holiday Inn Express Liverpool Royal Albert Dock, Crowne Plaza Manchester, Holiday Inn Express Manchester, Crowne Plaza Birmingham, Holiday Inn Express Birmingham and Holiday Inn Preston.
Revenues in 2025 were boosted by the full availability of the group’s largest asset, the 312-bedroom Crowne Plaza in Birmingham City Centre. A £6.5m refurbishment in 2024 saw blocks of rooms unavailable for long periods.
Writing in the report, group finance officer Mark Sutton singled out the strong performance of the group’s three Liverpool hotels. He said: “Liverpool hotels continued to enjoy a positive seven-day demand for both citywide corporate events and sports-led transient leisure demand.”
He added that Liverpool FC winning the Premier League title in May 2025 was a big driver of occupancy, as were concerts at Anfield by Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, Dua Lipa, and Lana Del Rey.
“With the opening of the new Hill Dickinson Stadium this will further support event-led demand across the city,” Mark said.
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Corporate bookings were strong in Manchester and Birmingham while Ellesmere Port and Preston benefited from midweek industrial demand.
Centre Island, which is owned by a company called Travan Services, based in the Isle of Man, said it will continue its focus on room rates rather than occupancy.
Mark also said: “Following on from a successful 2025, the outlook for 2026 remains positive in terms of overall revenue for the group with 2026 being a key event year with returning events to our key locations.”