FAT-CAT hotel bosses have pocketed a multi-million pound 441 PER CENT
profit increase after being paid by taxpayers to house asylum seekers.
Britannia Hotels, twice branded the worst hotel chain in the country, charges
taxpayers tens of thousands of pounds a week to give rooms to migrants.
As the number of asylum seekers arriving in Britain increases, business is
booming with Britannia raking in £14.2MILLION.
Private companies Serco, G4S and Clearel are contracted to rehome asylum
seekers and are paid out of a £175million pot from a Home Office deal.
But as asylum figures have increased from 25,220 in 2013 to currently 36,000,
they are forced to put migrants in hotel rooms, making Britannia Hotels rich.
Owner and chief executive Alex Langsam, 77, has non-domicile tax status on the
basis of his Austrian father. His personal fortune is estimated at
£70million.
A search of company records reveals Britannia Hotels paid Langsam more than
£3million last year in “general expenses”.
This week we found three Britannia hotels in Manchester housing hundreds of
migrants given full board and food staying next to paying guests.
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And an investigation by The Sun on Sunday found at least 17 Britannia
Hotels housed asylum seekers during the period when their profits soared in
2014/15.
Furious paying guests at Britannia hotels across the country have posted
horrendous accounts on the TripAdvisor website.
At Stockport guests complained asylum seekers living in rooms were using the
swimming pool, gym, spa and cocktail bar.
In December 2014 a customer described a “crowd” of asylum seekers blocking the
main entrance.
Last November a guest wrote: “The ‘hotel’ is home to asylum seekers and these
people were all we saw. I was stared at a lot and felt very uncomfortable.”
Another guest complained: “Asylum seekers everywhere, I felt the hotel is
more like a hostel, won’t be going back.”
Hundreds have been given beds at the Britannia in Wigan in the past two years
— where standard rooms cost around £45.
In 2015 far-right activists protested outside the hotel but guests are still
complaining it has been overrun by migrants.
One wrote: “There were men hanging about in the reception area and in the
corridors smoking and playing loud music, some of the ladies from our coach
were wary when returning to their rooms at night. Food an absolute disgrace
— had to ask for more to be brought out as the asylum seekers were taking
all the food from the buffet.”
Another added: “This is not a hotel. It’s a refugee camp.”
Last October guests trying to sleep at Adamton Country House, in Prestwick,
Ayrshire, where rooms are around £45, complained about asylum seekers.
Migrants have also been handed free rooms at the four-star Britannia Daresbury
Park Hotel and Spa in Warrington where guests complained of asylum seekers
dressed in flip-flops.
In November 2014 a guest posted: “If you want a soup kitchen atmosphere, with
a little bit of intimidation thrown in, then this is the place to stay.”
Paying guests shared the £55-a-night Britannia Country House in Manchester
with migrants last week.
But one previously complained: “We stayed in our room most of the time as we
didn’t feel safe due to the very large number of male asylum seekers that
are staying here that were staring at myself and my teenage daughter.
“It is unfair to expect us to pay for a hotel experience when it is being used
as a hostel.”
Guests this month have found asylum seekers staying in rooms at the
£50-a-night Manchester Britannia Airport Hotel.
One wrote: “A queue of refugees waiting for their hand-outs of food. Very
intimidating.”
In October 2015 guests were complaining their £40-a-night rooms in Nottingham
were being used by illegal immigrants.
One posted: “I thought we had stepped into a refugee camp.”
Wolverhampton City Council issued Britannia with an injunction to remove
migrants from its hotel claiming it was a breach of planning rules.
Asylum seekers from Eritrea and Sudan were getting three meals a day and £35 a
week spending money. Customers at Britannia Hotel Birmingham also complained
their rooms were used by asylum seekers.
Weeks earlier guests were told to avoid Britannia Coventry Hill Hotel if they
did not want to share with asylum seekers. Hundreds from Syria, Afghanistan
and Sudan have stayed at the three-star £42-a-night Britannia Russ Hill,
near Gatwick, in the past two years.
Taxpayers have also funded rooms at three hotels in Bournemouth.
Britannia’s 2014/15 accounts show the £14.2million pre-tax profit up from
£2.6million the previous year. Turnover has increased by 7.8 per cent from
£73.3million to £79million.
Langsam, a childless widower, lives in a £3million ten-bedroom home in
Cheshire. Four years ago he launched a legal bid to pay less tax but still
enjoys massive breaks.
He also owns Pontins holiday camps, which he bought for an estimated
£20million.
In 2014 Britannia was ranked worst hotel chain for the second year running by
Which! magazine.
Britannia Hotels, based in Altrincham, Greater Manchester, were contacted but
did not comment.
‘You don’t feel safe here’
THE Sun’s FRED NATHAN checked out some Britannia Hotels in the Manchester area
to see how asylum seekers are enjoying their taxpayer-funded stays.
First stop was the £54-a-night Britannia Country House where more than 40
asylum seekers are being housed. Many were lounging around in the corridors
or foyers, chatting loudly on smartphones.
Oussama, 26, from Morocco, said he had been in the UK since 2014 and studied
in London. He had been put up in the three-star hotel for the past week and
has no idea when he might be moved on.
His said his pal Karim, 31, from Kuwait, was too terrified to go home. Here
the refugees had their own restaurant, apart from the paying guests, in a
function room normally reserved for weddings. Some were slyly smoking at
breakfast.
One exasperated hotel worker said: “They have been here ages now, too long . .
. and they do not appreciate that this is a hotel with paying guests.”
At the Britannia Airport Hotel dozens of refugees were milling around the
communal areas. And it was a similar scene at the £60-a-night Britannia in
Stockport.
One paying guest said: “The atmosphere is menacing. It’s intimidating when
there are young men hanging around in the lobby – you don’t feel safe.”