Press Release
13 May 2000

LINKS TRUST INVESTMENT CONTINUES

The Links Trust's commitment to a programme of continuous improvement both on and off the courses is underlined in its recently published Annual Report and Accounts 1999.

The surplus generated after development expenditure rose from £283,338 to £366,574, with total income rising by £543,000 to £6.2m and expenditure by £460,000 to £5.8m.

Golfing income in 1999 rose by 11% to £5.2m (from £4.7m). The bulk of this comes from green fees - up by 6% to £3.3m. Other golfing revenues (which include the Alfred Dunhill Cup facility fee, Practice Centre revenues, revenue from the sale of non-golfing items and the Keith Prowse premium) went up by 28% to £1.3m. Non-golfing income - rents, royalties, interest and catering income rose by £30,000 to £951,000.

Maintenance costs rose by 29% to £1.6m (from £1.2m) as a result of three factors - intensive course preparations for the Open Championship, preparing the new turf nursery and exceptional grass growth in spring and summer which necessitated more frequent mowing.

In order to improve service to golfers, staffing levels were increased throughout the organisation from rangers to clubhouse attendants. As a result, expenditure on links Services and Clubhouse rose by 24% from £840,000 to £1,042,000.

Development expenditure fell by 24% to just over £1m, consisting mainly of costs incurred in Phase 1 of the new irrigation scheme. In addition, resurfacing roads and pathways and the refurbishment of toilet facilities more than doubled reaching £144,000.

Investment in buildings - mainly the redevelopment of Pilmour - and other fixed assets such as plant, machinery and equipment rose to £1.84m.

In the opening statement to the report, Chairman of Trustees, Bill Ritchie, and Chairman of the Links Management Committee, Alistair Nicoll, outline the challenges facing the Links in the new Millennium.

"Meeting golfers' expectations and keeping pace with demand are high priorities for the Trust," said Mr Ritchie. "The recent major improvements to facilities culminated in the creation of a second clubhouse open to the public. Such a level of investment can only be continued by maintaining strong cashflow and satisfactory surpluses."

The number of rounds played was down to 201,462 (205,447 in 1998) with bad weather in December alone causing a drop of 2,500. The total played over the Old Course was 41,621 (42,385 in 1998) and the Eden suffered the biggest reduction to from 41,907 to 38,072 . The only course which saw more rounds played was the Jubilee with 31,854 (up from 30,057).

Ends