Exclusive:Donald Trump: Mixed fortunes for former US president's Scottish resorts with Aberdeenshire property mired in red for 11th year

Turnberry operating firm posts modest profit but parent firm’s accounts still overdue

Donald Trump’s inaugural golf resort in Scotland has run up losses of nearly £740,000, marking the 11th consecutive year the former US president's property has been in the red.

Newly published accounts for Mr Trump’s firm in Aberdeenshire show that while its turnover increased, so did its losses, with the amount loaned to the resort from elsewhere in the Trump Organisation’s network of companies also on the rise.

It comes as SLC Turnberry Ltd, the firm that operates Mr Trump’s most prestigious international resort at Turnberry, posted a profit for the first time under his ownership, although the full picture of the finances at the South Ayrshire property will not become clear until its parent company, Golf Recreation Scotland Ltd, publishes its accounts. They are currently listed as overdue on Companies House.

The accounts for Trump International Golf Club Scotland Ltd, the corporate entity behind the Aberdeenshire resort, detail how the turnover increased in 2022 to £3.59 million compared to £2.07m the year before – a time when the leisure and tourism market was still severely disrupted by the pandemic.

However, the final losses were also up from £696,845 to £738,344, despite the fact the resort’s gross profit pushed through the £1m barrier, having increased by around £800,000. However, the accounts pointed to administrative expenses of more than £1.5m.

In his director’s report, Eric Trump, an executive vice-president of the Trump Organisation, and one of two directors of the firm alongside his brother, Don Jr, said the business delivered increased sales across Trump International Scotland’s golf green fees, membership income, accommodation and hotel services, which contributed to a 74 per cent upturn in turnover.

He pointed out that during the year, the Aberdeenshire course hosted the PGA Seniors Championship, which he said was “testament to the calibre, reputation, and status of the business”, adding: “The company also committed to the construction of a second world-class championship links golf course and embarked on the next phase of its masterplan development with the reengagement of its project management team. Two additional properties were acquired during the year, further enhancing the development opportunities within the estate.”

Donald Trump visited his Scottish resorts in May 2023, playhing several rounds of golf at Turnberry. Picture: Robert Perry/Getty Images

His report went on: “Ownership remains committed to the long-term vision for the resort and confidently foresees the positive fiscal improvement trend continuing in the medium and longer term, with the golf course now fully established as a world-class destination.”

Notes in the accounts also show the resort received over £10,000 in government grant funding in 2022, down from £128,000 the previous year. It was also dependent on a loan of more than £7m from its parent company, DJT Holdings LLC, up from £5.4m in 2021. The loan is interest-free and has been discounted at a market rate of interest. The company also counts Mr Trump among its creditors, thanks to an ongoing interest free loan of £40.6m.

In response to an enquiry from The Scotsman, Trump International Scotland said: “2022 was an excellent year for the business and aligns with the company’s long-term investment plans.”

Last September, a New York judge found Mr Trump liable for the false valuation of his Aberdeenshire property as part of a high-profile civil lawsuit, which ruled he deceived banks, insurers, and others by massively overvaluing his assets and exaggerating his net worth on paperwork used in making deals and securing financing across his businesses. However, Mr Trump has denied all wrongdoing.

Elsewhere, the latest accounts for SLC Turnberry Ltd, which operates the Turnberry resort in South Ayrshire, a four-time host of the Open Championship, posted a profit of £571,416. It is the first time the venue has been in the black since being acquired by Mr Trump in 2014. That performance was driven primarily by a significant increase in turnover, up from £13.1m in 2021 to £21.8m in 2022.

In an accompanying strategic report, Eric Trump said the owners had future plans to “enhance the resort further” and maintain its status as “Scotland’s premier destination for luxury travel, championship golf and special events”.

The full picture of Turnberry’s finances will not become clear until all of Mr Trump’s Scottish firms publish their accounts. While SLC Turnberry is the corporate entity responsible for operating Turnberry, it is a subsidiary of Golf Recreation Scotland Ltd.

The previous accounts, spanning 2021, saw the two companies deliver markedly different results. While SLC Turnberry posted losses of £3.7m on turnover of £13.1m, Golf Recreation Scotland incurred far more significant losses of £14.7m based on the same turnover, with the lion’s share of that sum – more than £9.7m – attributed to foreign currency exchange losses. Turnberry’s performance that year was impacted by the ongoing pandemic, with the hotel closed for the first three months of 2021.

However, the financial performance of SLC Turnberry will be welcomed by the Trump Organisation, which has been repeatedly frustrated in its efforts to expand its footprint at the coastal property. In 2020, the firm enlisted architects to draw up plans for a “world-class coastal retreat”, which would have seen hundreds of private houses, luxury apartments, and retirement villas built on farmland owned by the Trumps. One masterplan document said the resort was “exceptionally well placed to be a forerunner in the retirement property market”.

However, no formal planning application was ever submitted by the Trump Organisation or its subsidiaries, with Mr Trump’s firm failing in its attempts to secure an amendment to planning policies that would have allocated the land for leisure, recreation, and housing development. In 2022, the Scottish Government’s planning and environmental appeals division said the Trump Organisation’s submissions provided “no evidence” around the need for retirement housing. Five years ago, meanwhile, the Trump Organisation was thwarted in its attempts to re-designate a smaller tract of agricultural land for housing.

Both of Mr Trump’s Scottish reports are ultimately controlled by the trustees of a Florida state grantor trust in the 77 year-old’s name.