Trump’s Scottish golf clubs extend run of yearly losses

NEW YORK – President Donald Trump’s two golf resorts in Scotland are posting millions of dollars of losses as his properties contend with a struggling local economy and a backlash against his divisive rhetoric.

Britain’s Companies House reports that financial statements filed by Trump’s clubs on the North Sea and Irish Sea lost a combined 11.9 million pounds ($14.5 million) last year, adding to a string of annual losses that started before he was president. But there were also signs of recovery, with revenue increasing at both resorts.

The president’s golf operations are closely watched because, unlike his licensing operations, Trump has spent hundreds of millions of dollars to buy and improve many of the clubs, a bold bet he can buck the industry trend of bankruptcy and losses.