Urquhart Travel misses the dividends bus

Published on Thursday 8 January 2009 20:26

DAVID Urquhart Travel, one of the UK's biggest independent coach tour companies, will not pay a dividend for the second year running after full-year profits more than halved.

Accounts newly filed at Companies House reveal that profit before tax fell to just below 226,000 in the year to 30 April, compared with almost 505,000 a year earlier. Turnover reversed slightly, from 31.9m to 30.6m.

The business, which employs about 220 staff, is likely to have been hit by higher fuel costs during the period, although the overall bill for wages and pension contributions fell by almost 11 per cent to 3.5m.

David Urquhart, owner of the East Kilbride-based firm, has previously noted that profit can be affected by the fortunes of his private company investments.

In a statement accompanying the annual accounts, the directors said: "The external commercial environment is expected to remain competitive throughout 2008-9 with the forecasted tightening of consumer spending requiring a continued focus on the delivery of value-for-money holidays."

The company's highest-paid director – likely to be Urquhart – received 244,232, down from 254,725 the year before and well below the 500,000-plus pocketed in 2006.

Founded 26 years ago, David Urquhart Travel carries over two million holidaymakers annually to destinations across Europe.