Donald Trump's Scottish golf courses lose more than £9m

Donald Trump's Scottish golf courses are not profitable, clocking losses of about £9.5m last year, according to accounts filed with Companies House. The losses meant Trump's companies did not pay any corporation tax in the UK.

Golf courses in Aberdeenshire and Ayrshire owned by the Republican presidential nominee recorded losses in 2015. Menie Estate, which is owned by Trump International Golf Club Scotland, lost money for the fourth year in a row since Trump opened it in 2012, company accounts show.

According to The Herald Scotland, the Menie Estate in northeast Scotland lost £1,096,108 in 2015. The company had lost £1,139,513 in 2014, £1.8m in 2013 and £1.7m in 2012. The golf course employees 95 people, who were paid £1.9m in total.

The BBC reported that the company noted overall revenue increased year-on-year by 7.4% "in spite of the economic downturn experienced in the north east of Scotland due to the collapse of the oil prices with a hundred thousand redundancies in the oil and gas industry affecting every sector in the region".

Trump's other course in Ayrshire, Trump Turnberry golf resort, had a turnover of £11.4m but lost £8.4m in 2015. According to the BBC, Turnberry lost £3.6m the previous year. The company, which was purchased by Trump in June 2014, employed 337 people, who were paid £6m in total.

According to the BBC, Golf Recreation Scotland Ltd, which operates Turnberry, said "significant capital expenditure" had occurred in 2015, with "fixed asset additions" of £17.5m relating to renovations. The company maintained that Trump Organization remained "fully committed to reviving the resort, including the transformation of the iconic Turnberry Lighthouse into golf's most impressive halfway house".

The company's directors, including Trump's son Eric Trump, were confident that the resort would "return to profitability in the short to medium term". The Herald Scotland noted that the losses meant Trump's companies did not have to pay any corporation tax in the UK.

A financial watchdog in the US called for the accounts of Trump's Scottish golf resort accounts be investigation following allegations of "significant, widespread discrepancies". The American Democracy Legal Fund claimed Trump broke the Ethics in Government Act due to inconsistencies in the incomes reported at the two resorts.

The watchdog has called on the Department of Justice to investigate.