St Andrews Links Trust swings into profit as income rises £16m

After incurring losses of more than £11m during the pandemic, the organisation that runs the Old Course has reported a huge rise in income for 2022.

By Gavin Harper

September 29 2023, 1:04pm

The St Andrews Links Trust runs the Old Course.

The organisation which runs St Andrews Old Course has hailed a return to pre-Covid revenue.

St Andrews Links Trust runs the historic golf course which hosted the 150th Open Championship last summer.

Newly filed accounts for the trust show it recorded income of £33.2 million for the year to December 2022.

That is almost double the 2021 figure of £16.4m. It is also an improvement on the 2019 figure – the last pre-Covid year – of £29.2m

The easing of international travel restrictions in April 2022 saw visitor traffic returned to pre-pandemic levels.

It marks a huge turnaround for the trust, which endured losses of more than £11m in 2020 and 2021.

Hundreds of thousands of golf fans descended on St Andrews for the 150th Open last summer. Image: Steve Brown/DC Thomson.

The Home of Golf also returned a profit of £3.7m last year.

That was largely as a result of visitor income and improved trading conditions across its facilities.

Neil Coulson, chief executive of St Andrews Links Trust, said: “2022 began with significant uncertainty amid talk of new Covid strains.

“The lifting of travel restrictions in April set us on the path to begin our recovery following the two most difficult years in the history of the trust.

“The return to pre-Covid income levels underlines the important balance between welcoming international visitors to the Home of Golf and looking after our yearly ticketholders both in St Andrews and beyond.”

Praise for St Andrews Links Trust staff

Mr Coulson also praised the 350 St Andrews Links Trust staff for their efforts.

He added: “I am delighted with how our dedicated staff coped with the transition from operations of the previous two years to the sudden return of high demand across the links.

“As a business, we were able to achieve so much in 2022 including the historic hosting of The 150th Open.

“It is a testament to our staff and all of our stakeholders that the year was such a success, and to our visitors whose desire to visit the Home of Golf remained undimmed throughout.”

More than 250,000 rounds of golf were played across the seven courses at St Andrews Links in 2022.

About 50% of the 254,298 rounds were played by visitors. The other half were played by yearly ticket holders, who pay an annual fee for playing rights at the links.

In 2022, yearly ticket holder prices included a fixed fee rise of £100 to support the financial recovery of the trust.

An infrastructure investment strategy, which was placed on hold in 2020, will also be revisited to deliver reinvestment into the trust’s facilities.

U-turn over Swilcan Bridge ‘patio’

In February this year, the trust was forced to U-turn after it installed patio-style paving at the world-famous Swilcan Bridge.

Some of the sport’s biggest names, including former Open champion Sir Nick Faldo, hit out at the design move. Some described it as “drawing a moustache on the Mona Lisa”.

The paving, which the trust said was installed to mitigate “significant wear and tear” at the iconic site, was hastily removed.

The ‘patio’ beside the Swilcan Bridge sparked a strong reaction online – and it was promptly removed. Image: Mhairi Edwards/DC Thomson.

Meanwhile, Mr Coulson said there have been challenges in the current financial year. However, he is confident about the future.

He added: “While 2023 has undoubtedly brought some different challenges.

“We have dealt with unprecedented demand, the outlook for St Andrews Links is positive.

“The team here is determined to continue our recovery and to deliver on the ambition maximise and reinvest income back into the links to enhance the experience we provide.”