The family-owned business Leekes Retail & Leisure Group, headquartered in South Wales and comprising the Vale Resort, Hensol Castle Distillery, the Leekes Retail operation and a property business, has posted its latest set of results.
The Group announced a strong performance with EBITDA of £5.2m and a profit before tax and exceptional items of £1.6m for the year ending 31 March 2025.
The Vale Resort at Hensol, South Wales continues to report an impressing performance despite the challenges facing the hospitality industry. The facilities available at the 650-acre resort include a 143-bedroom 4-star hotel, two championship golf courses, Wales’ largest independent Health and Racquets club and an award-winning spa. In addition, the Resort continues to house the training base for both the Wales Rugby and Football teams in its world-class sporting facilities.
The financial year 2024-25 saw the appointment of a new senior operational management team, the implementation of a new I.T. system, and £1m investment in the facilities at the Resort including the enhancement of the pool area with new whirlpool baths, steam and sauna facilities as well as a major upgrade of the spa.
This work affected both turnover, which was 3% down on the prior year, and profitability with the highly publicised cost inflation in the hospitality industry also impacting. In the year EBITDA remained positive at £2.3m with pre-tax profit at £1.2m. Despite continuing cost pressures this year, the investment has led to significantly improved trading with turnover up 8% and profits heading towards 2023-24 levels, when the Resort enjoyed a post-covid boom.
Stephen Leeke, Managing Director of the Vale Resort commented: “We have invested over £50m in the Vale Resort over the last 25 years and our Group continues its long-standing policy of reinvesting all our profits into our businesses. In a highly competitive market, and with a squeeze on household spending, it is important that we keep upgrading of our product offer to provide the best possible Welsh experience at our unique Resort.
“Our leisure members and guests are a key part of our business and the feedback we have received following the recent investment in this area has been excellent. Our improved performance has given us the confidence to invest a further £1.5m in upgrading our gym, golf courses, and bedrooms this year and, with strong forward hotel bookings, we are optimistic that we can continue the momentum.”
In the financial year 2024-25, delivered sales in the retail business were 5% down on the previous year with the inflationary environment and sluggish housing market affecting demand for high value home purchases. However, delivered sales and profitability for the 7 months to 31 October 2025 have both rebounded with delivered sales up 7% and profits of £0.6m against a break-even position in the prior year.
Commenting on the results, Emma Leeke, Managing Director of Leekes Retail said: “The economic environment remains very challenging with consumers’ disposable income impacted by continuing price inflation and the resultant high interest rates. Businesses are also impacted by double digit cost inflation particularly as a result of increased staffing costs with significant growth in National Living Wage and the impact of increased employer National Insurance contributions.
“Despite this, we remain confident that the £10m investment in the refurbishment of our flagship store in Llantrisant, South Wales and the growth from our newest store in Cheltenham will accelerate the sales improvement we have seen in the first half of 2025-26.”
The group’s newest business, its distillery operations, based at Hensol Castle adjacent to the Vale Resort, has had an exciting year with listings across several supermarkets for its Hensol Castle ranges. The group has invested £5m over the last 3 years into its distillery and bottling operations with the aim of further strengthening the business.
Chris Leeke, Managing Director of Hensol Castle Distillery, commented: “The on-going investment made in equipment for our distillery as we have grown the operation has really paid dividends this year with turnover up by 70% in line with the continued demand from existing and new customers.”
The group also recently extended its refinancing facility of a £25m Revolving Credit Facility with Barclays Bank to a four-year term. Mike Fowler, Group Finance Director, commented: “We have put in place plans for £15m of capital expenditure across our core operations over the next 3 years.
“The continuous reinvestment of our strong profits back into the business, the low levels of gearing of 15% and the support of Barclays who have been bankers to the group for over 20 years, together enable us to continue with our ambitious programme of investment despite the prevailing economic uncertainty.”
