Registration number: NI011874

Graffan Properties Limited

Directors' Report for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

The directors present their report and the financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2024.

Directors of the company

The directors who held office during the year were as follows:

Michael Holland

Tom Mannix

Robert Brian Savage

Statement of Directors' Responsibilities

The directors acknowledge their responsibilities for preparing the Annual Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations.

Company law requires the directors to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under that law the directors have elected to prepare the financial statements in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (United Kingdom Accounting Standards and applicable law). Under company law the directors must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the company and of the profit or loss of the company for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the directors are required to:

•	select suitable accounting policies and apply them consistently;

•	make judgements and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent;

•	state whether applicable United Kingdom Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and

•	prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the company will continue in business.

The directors are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the company's transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

Disclosure of information to the auditors

Each director has taken steps that they ought to have taken as a director in order to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the company's auditors are aware of that information. The directors confirm that there is no relevant information that they know of and of which they know the auditors are unaware.

Reappointment of auditors

A resolution proposing the appointment of auditors will be put to the forthcoming annual general meeting in accordance with Section 485 of The Companies Act 2006.

Required disclosures dealt with in the Strategic Report

In accordance with the provisions of s414C(11) of the Companies Act 2006, the following matters, otherwise required for inclusion in the Directors’ Report, have been included in the Strategic Report:

- Review of business and future developments in the Company, and
- Financial instruments incorporating financial risk management objectives and policies,

Graffan Properties Limited

Directors' Report for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

Medium companies' exemption

This report has been prepared in accordance with the special provisions relating to medium sized companies within Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006.

Approved and authorised by the Board on 20 September 2025 and signed on its behalf by:
 

......................................... Michael Holland Director

Graffan Properties Limited

Strategic Report for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

The directors present their strategic report for the year ended 31 December 2024.

Fair review of the business

The Directors are pleased to report an increase in turnover for 2024 and encouraging levels of operating profitability.

Tourism levels across Northern Ireland have continued to rise, as the desirability of the region grows. This has created opportunities for the Company, but as would be expected, it has also attracted additional hoteliers to the market. The number of hotel beds across Belfast has increased steadily over the last number of years and shows no immediate signs of abatement. The Directors are pleased to report that despite a significant increase in hotel beds, the Company has maintained its market share and continued to generate increasing revenues year-on-year.

Much of the increase in the current year was driven through a rise in the average room rate, which was necessitated to ensure margins were maintained in the face of inflationary rises in costs. Despite the higher prices, occupancy rates remained consistently high, which reflects the premium nature of the hotel offering and management’s commitment to excellent service quality.

They continue to closely monitor all relevant key performance indicators and regularly compare these with similar operations in the city of Belfast.

Increases in operating costs have been a major factor over the past few years, as inflation and other external economic factors have driven costs upwards. It is pleasing that some of these inflationary factors seem to be easing, but with increases in national insurance and the national minimum wage coming into effect from August 2025, it is anticipated that staffing cost will rise sharply in the incoming year.

Interest rates, which had risen steadily through 2023, remained at these higher levels throughout 2024. This has meant little change in the overall interest charge despite a decreasing loan balance. There were some slight reductions toward the end of the year, but the benefit of this will fall mostly into the 2025 year and beyond. The Company’s external net debt LTV is extremely low compared to industry norms and continues to improve year-on-year.

Overall, the directors are pleased with the years trading results and anticipate similar levels of profitability for 2025. They are determined in their commitment to maintaining the highest levels of service and guest satisfaction and are pursuing opportunities to expand the hotel and the services it provides.

 

A summary of the key performance indicators is given below:

	2024		2023		Variance
	£		£		%
Turnover	9,645,901		9,300,099		3.7%
Operating profit	1,923,579		1,979,985		-2.8%

Graffan Properties Limited

Strategic Report for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

Principal risks and uncertainties

The principal risks facing the Company arise from the general local economic situation in the UK and Ireland, levels of tourism across the British Isles.

Belfast continues to experience an increase in the number of available hotel beds as additional hoteliers enter the market. The Directors feel, however, that due to the Fitzwilliam Hotel’s reputation, desirable location and commitment to service quality, it is in a position to continue trading successfully in this environment.

Liquidity and cash flow risk remain key focusses of the Company’s management. The Company does not have any necessity to engage in any form of hedging activities nor is the utilisation of any other form of financial instrument required.
 

Approved and authorised by the Board on 20 September 2025 and signed on its behalf by:
 

......................................... Michael Holland Director

Graffan Properties Limited

Independent Auditor's Report to the Members of Graffan Properties Limited

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Graffan Properties Limited (the 'company') for the year ended 31 December 2024, which comprise the Profit and Loss Account, Statement of Comprehensive Income, Balance Sheet, Statement of Changes in Equity, Statement of Cash Flows, and Notes to the Financial Statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion the financial statements:

•	give a true and fair view of the state of the company's affairs as at 31 December 2024 and of its profit for the year then ended;
•	have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and
•	have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the auditor responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the director's use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the company's ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the original financial statements were authorised for issue.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the directors with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

Other information

The directors are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the annual report, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether there is a material misstatement in the financial statements or a material misstatement of the other information. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact. We have nothing to report in this regard.

Graffan Properties Limited

Independent Auditor's Report to the Members of Graffan Properties Limited

Opinion on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:

•	the information given in the Strategic Report and Directors' Report for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and

•	the Strategic Report and Directors' Report have been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.