REPORT: Trump’s Scottish golf resorts received $4 million in pandemic aid from UK government

Amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, former President Donald Trump’s Scottish golf resorts have taken in more than $4 million in United Kingdom emergency money.

Hundreds of staff members were furloughed by the business as a result of the pandemic.

According to newly published company accounts for both the international resorts, the Trump Turnberry in Ayrshire and Trump International Scotland near Aberdeenshire lost 273 jobs in 2020 while also accepting $3.7 million in furlough support.

Just before his inauguration as president in 2017, Trump gave control of both resorts to his sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump. Still, he kept financial interest in the business, and both are owned by the holding company Golf Recreation Scotland Ltd.

Other government data shows both resorts made additional financial claims during this year as the U.K. government continued its emergency job-retention program.

Trump Turnberry recorded a loss amounting to more than $4 million in 2020, while the Aberdeenshire resort lost a reported $1.7 million. Both resorts were required to shut down by the government due to the pandemic, which meant they had to be closed for many months in 2020 through 2021. The closures were cited as a reason for the significant staff losses.

Accounts filed by Golf Recreation Scotland Ltd. And signed by Eric Trump, its director, also cited Brexit as an additional contributing factor to the resorts’ failing finances.

“Brexit has also impacted our businesses as supply chains have been impacted by availability of drivers and staff, reducing deliveries and availability of certain product lines,” state the accounts.

The documents later say that increased prices attributed to freight and import-duty charges following the Brexit vote, as well as a reduced staff availability due to wage inflation, have harmed the resorts.