Derby Hotels expects to exceed 80 million in revenue and prepares its landing in Portugal

Derby Hotels Collection continues its good run. Fully recovered from the impact the pandemic had on tourism, the hotel chain expects to repeat last year's good results, when it recorded a turnover of 75 million euros. The company led by the Clos family expects to grow this year more than the 2% and 3% they had planned and reach an increase of around 10%, exceeding 80 million euros. These figures follow an upward trend after the halt due to covid, with revenues of 30 million in 2021 that grew by 134% in 2022, to more than 70 million euros.

The growth phase is accompanied by strategic projects such as the renovation of its establishment in London, The Caesar, a four-star boutique hotel very close to Hyde Park. With the works, the number of rooms will be reduced from 140 to 120, with the aim of improving the establishment's services and being able to reposition it in a superior four-star category. Previously, when the group bought it, they had already reduced them from 160 to 140 rooms. With a budget of around 20 million euros, Derby is about to finish the first phase of the works, scheduled for the end of the month. Without closing the hotel, the works began a year and a half ago in 90 rooms and, starting in September, it will be the turn of the remaining 50 rooms and the common areas.

Born in Barcelona, the hotel chain also has a presence in Paris with the Banke hotel, a five-star hotel in the Opera district, and has now resumed its intention to expand to Lisbon, a city very similar to the Catalan capital, according to Derby's general director, Joaquim Clos. The landing in Lisbon had been on the table before the pandemic, but the project ended up falling through. Now that the dust has settled, the company has returned to work and is already studying two assets, one is a building in operation and the other is a plot of land.

In Spain, with hotels mainly in Barcelona but also in Madrid, the Clos chain feels comfortable with its current position. In the Catalan capital, it began its journey with the Derby hotel, inaugurated in 1968 in Les Corts by the father of the current general director, Jordi Clos, and now has a dozen establishments of different types, with one 3-star (Astoria), four 4-star (Granados 83, Gran Derby, Balmes and Derby), and two five-star (Claris and Bagués). Under the Derby Hotels Collection brand, the company also manages apartments that offer the same services as a hotel. These are the luxury apartments Suites Avenue (Paseo de Gràcia), and the establishments Balmes Residence and Arai, on Mallorca and Avinyó streets, respectively.

The group also has residential blocks converted into tourist apartments, under the Barcelona Apartment brand. The company was born in 2001 when it launched its first tourist apartment building in El Born to diversify its hotel activity. Currently, this division includes Aparthotel Aramunt, Aparthotel La República, Aparthotel Allada, also in El Born, Apartamentos Gran de Gràcia, Apartamentos Milà, Apartamentos Val and Apartamentos Villarroel, all of them in Barcelona. The latest opening has for the first time crossed the city's borders and gone to Plaza Europa in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat. Some of these properties are owned by the group or shared with other partners, and others belong to third parties. All in all, the eight complexes exceed one hundred rooms.

The entire blocks of tourist apartments are the leg of the business that the group plans to export to Madrid. In the capital, it currently has two hotels, Urban, a five-star grand luxury, and Villa Real, a five-star, both very close to Sol. At the Hotel Villa Real, Derby invested one million euros last year in the renovation of the fifth floor, eliminating five duplex rooms to open a terrace with a swimming pool. The works also served to incorporate some new rooms, such as a gran suite.

A cocktail for the America's Cup

Derby Hotels joins the America's Cup celebration with a cocktail dedicated to the regatta. Made with vodka, blue curaçao, pineapple and lemon juice, and egg white, the drink with a distinct blue hue can be ordered this summer on the terrace of Hotel Claris, the first in the city to open to Barcelonians more than 30 years ago. "The regatta is good for the city," Clos emphasizes. In their case, they have not noticed a peak in reservations due to the sports competition, which will not be concentrated in a few days and will last for more than two months.

The drink is accompanied by a new seasonal menu from chef Pedro Salillas for the establishment's terrace, located on the corner between Pau Claris and València. Mediterranean and local cuisine predominates, prioritizing seasonal ingredients, with a braised mackerel with grape escabeche and almond cream, without forgetting classics such as Delta rice with smoked eel and Prat artichokes, and a peach and tarragon gazpacho with Palamós prawn tartare. A sample of the Derby general manager's commitment to moving towards more sustainable cuisine, utilizing products such as coffee grounds and fruit skins and seeds.