HOTELS group De Vere, hard hit since the September 11 attacks on the US, has posted an improvement in turnover as people treated themselves to holidays over Christmas.

De Vere, of Warrington, which owns Northumberland's Slaley Hall Hotel, has suffered in recent months as September 11 and the slowing global economy led to a fall in business travel.

In particular, the group saw demand for larger conference events fall away and last year reported just a small rise in final operating profits.

Yesterday, De Vere said the tough conditions had been offset by an increase in leisure breaks, particularly over Christmas and New Year, helping lift group turnover in the four months to January 31 by 10.7 per cent.

Its high-end hotels were the main beneficiaries and like-for-like revenue per available room (revpar) rose 3.1 per cent. At its mid-market Village Hotels, revpar growth was also up, albeit at a more modest 1.1 per cent.

Addressing investors at the annual meeting at the De Vere Carden Park near Chester, the firm said: "Both the De Vere and Village brands have increased their respective revpar premiums over the competition, reflecting their strong value proposition and ability to react quickly to changing market conditions."

De Vere also owns 11 health and fitness clubs under the Greens brand and said trading was in line with expectations. Membership had grown by 7,000 since the end of September, to 44,000, and clubs were due to open in Gosforth in Cumbria, Shipley near Bradford, Leicester and south Glasgow.