Fri 29th Sep 2017 - G1 Group reports Ebitda boost as turnover nears £75m G1 Group reports Ebitda boost as turnover nears £75m: Scotland’s biggest managed operator G1 Group has reported turnover increased to £74.5m for the year ending 31 March 2017 compared with £70.5m the year before. The company saw Ebitda rise to £17.6m compared with £16.4m the previous year. There was continued investment in the estate with capital and investment expenditure of more than £20m. The group's net assets increased 6.5% in the year. Despite the political and economic uncertainty, G1 Group said it was continuing to invest selectively in Scotland. Chairman Brian McGhee said: "The EU referendum result from last year continues to dominate the landscape and will probably do so for the foreseeable future, with attendant political and economic uncertainty, exacerbated locally by the continuing issues for the oil economy. Alongside this, the hospitality and leisure sector has had to cope with additional regulation across the board – business rate changes, energy levies, apprenticeship levies, and excise duty changes. So it is a testament to the broad base of activity and careful management that G1 has delivered a solid set of results for 2016/17. Consistent with its philosophy of development and reinvestment in the estate, G1 has made significant investments in the year, the most prominent of which was the iconic Scotsman Hotel in March 2017, a flagship addition to the hotels portfolio. Substantial development work was undertaken at the Odeon cinema in Clerk Street in Edinburgh, and the creation of Forgans restaurant and adjacent cafe Mitchells in Broughty Ferry, mirroring their namesakes in St Andrews. Subsequent to the year end, the acquisition of a majority interest in G101 Off Sales brought an additional stream of activity for the group. The operations team has had a busy schedule of acquisitions, developments and refurbishments to absorb, as well as constant systems upgrades, the most significant being in the cinemas. Naturally there were challenges, but they coped with them, and I would like to give recognition to what they achieved over the year. As we leave the peak trading months of the summer, the Scotsman Hotel is a focus for refurbishment and development. The group has continued its solid progress into the current financial year, and will look to build on that with acquisitions that fit with the strategic footprint."