Ashley Hotels Southampton Limited, the company behind the Highfield House Asylum Hotel, has reported a record-breaking profit for the year ending 31 December 2024, with accounts posted to Companies House revealing earnings of £1,982,979.00—equivalent to just over £38,000 a week. This marks a significant leap from the previous year’s figures, with profits of £1,455,533.00 in 2023, £1,189,191.00 in 2022, and £689,619.00 in 2021.
The latest accounts show the group’s total turnover reached £4,463,078 before deductions for tax, machinery, motor vehicles, and other costs associated with running the business.
Ashley Hotels, which operates a string of properties across the UK, is owned and run by the Hirji family. The group traces its origins back to 1994, when Director Karim Hirji acquired his first hotel, the Flora Hotel in Earls Court, London. Over the years, following the success of this initial venture, Hirji expanded into other London-based properties, including Kensington Manor Hotel and Mira Hotel, before striking out on his own in 1999 to acquire the Quality Hotel St. Albans, Best Western Andover Hotels, and The Victoria Inn on Belgrave Road.
Since incorporating in 2013, the business has remained a family affair, run by Mr. Hirji, his wife Nurjahan, and their two children, Zamir and Alim, both of whom are actively involved in daily operations. Describing itself as having “the desire and appetite to continue to grow,” the company now oversees a sizeable portfolio of hotels.
On the company’s website, Karim Hirji is described as Founder & Director and credits “the endless potential to learn and improve” as his key motivation. The company’s values are on full display, with commitments to guest satisfaction, operational efficiency, and staff wellbeing: “We always love to make our guests happy… Provide our guests with the best possible customer experience… Focus on both operational efficiency and business growth… Maintain staff who are committed, hard-working and happy… Maintain family trust and teamwork within [the] business… Always keep strong ethics at the heart of commercial decisions.”
Highfield House itself, listed on booking.com but currently unavailable for reservations, is described as a straightforward hotel just a ten-minute walk from Southampton Common and twelve minutes from St. Denys train station. The property offers modern rooms with free WiFi, flat-screen TVs, and tea and coffee-making facilities. Guests are treated to a hot buffet breakfast, and there’s an affiliated restaurant and bar next door. Off-street parking is also included.
As profits soar, Ashley Hotels Southampton Limited seems set to remain a major player in Southampton’s hospitality scene, buoyed by a family-led approach and a stated commitment to guest happiness and business growth.
Unavailable because migrants are staying there! Am I right?