Wolverhampton Racecourse profits fall by £1m
Wolverhampton Racecourse saw both profits and turnover fall last year.
New figures from the business show that pre-tax profit for the floodlit all-weather course, which also boasts a 54-bedroom Holiday Inns franchised hotel and conference and exhibition centres, was down by more than £1 million from £1.72m in 2016 to £687,000.
Turnover was down from £12.8 million in 2016 to £12m for the course at Gorsebrook Road, Dunstall Park, which staged 80 fixtures in the year.
Income from media rights from TV broadcasts of racing reduced due to the timing of new agreements with some of the major bookmakers.
The directors, who include Stephane Nahum, David Roberts and Kevin Rchardson, said in their strategic report that they were satisfied with the results for the year from one of the busiest racecourses in the UK and looked forward to the future with confidence.
Wolverhampton Racecourse, which has staged horse racing since 1888, is now owned by Arena Racing Corporation the largest racecourse operator in the UK.
It welcomes more than 120,000 visitors each year and serves 200,000 corporate lunches and 50,000 bottles of champagne.
Staff costs were up from £2.4m in 2016 to £1.6m with the number of full time staff employed rising from 53 to 64. Casual staff employed on race days varied between 40 and 110.
The racecourse, which was the first floodlit course in the country, invested in a new high performance Tapeta track in 2014.
In recent years the course has moved into providing after racing entertainment with a number of big pop and rock acts performing including Ocean Colour Scene and Kaiser Chiefs this year.
