The country-wide coronavirus lockdowns forced the five-star hotel to close for most of the year causing revenue to fall by 63.4%.

Old Course Limited, which also operates the Duke’s Golf Course in the town, made a pre-tax loss of £7.1m for this year. That is compared with a pre-tax profit of £233,000 in 2019.

According to the company’s latest annual report, turnover also declined from £22.7m in 2019 to £8.3m for the year ending December 31 2020.

A spokesperson for the hotel said: “Our 2020 accounts reflect a difficult year through a global pandemic and where we have made a considerable investment into expanding and improving the hotel.”

In his strategic report, director Herbert Kohler outlined the impact of the pandemic. He said: “The underlying trading revenue of the Old Course Hotel, golf resort and spa has decreased due to the impact of Covid-19.”

He added that the closure of the facility in the year due to the pandemic led to an overall decrease in revenue of 63.4%.

The hotel is currently undergoing a multi-million-pound revamp which includes the introduction of a penthouse and new guest rooms. An additional restaurant and bar will also be built, as well as refurbished events spaces.

Mr Kohler added that the company was required to close its facilities to the public and has worked to put appropriate safety measures in place to protect employees and guests to enable reopening on April 26 2021.

Headcount at the Old Course Limited also dropped from 455 in 2019 to 382, with a decline of 77 staff in hotel operations. The wage bill also fell by just over £1m from upwards of £6.7m in 2019 to £5.6m for the reporting period.