Scottish golf resorts which are owned by billionaire former US President Donald Trump received more than £3 million from the UK taxpayer in furlough subsidies.
Trump’s venues in Ayrshire and Aberdeenshire were known to have been in receipt of furlough payments, but newly published accounts reveal the sums involved.
Trump Turnberry in Ayrshire and Balmedie in Aberdeenshire suffered heavy losses from restrictions and periods of closure during the pandemic.
Mr Trump handed control of both courses to his sons Donald Junior and Eric shortly before he became president in 2017, but he retained a financial interest.
Turnover at Golf Recreation Scotland, which owns the Turnberry fell from £19.7m in 2019 to £6.7m in 2020. A profit of £321,000 in 2019 turned into a loss of £3.4m the following year.
The company received a total of £2.3m in grants under the furlough scheme in 2020, the accounts say, while the average number of employees fell from 541 to 289.
A subsidiary of the company, SLC Turnberry Ltd, made further furlough claims of between £435,000 and £1.1m from January to August 2021, according to government data not included in the published accounts.
“Government support was helpful to retain as many jobs as possible, however, uncertainty of the duration of support and the pandemic’s sustained impact meant that redundancies were required to prepare the business for the long term effects to the hospitality industry,” say the accounts, signed by Eric Trump.
