Slieve Russell Hotel made loss prior to last year's sale but outlook is more positive
The 2024 pre-tax loss arose from interest payments almost doubling last year, from €1.84m to €3.35m. The company recorded the pre-tax loss despite revenues rising by 7pc from €19.05m to €20.43m.
The loss at the hotel firm came ahead of the reported €30m sale of the 224-bedroom hotel last October by CBRE on behalf of the liquidators of the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation, Kieran Wallace and Eamonn Richardson of Interpath Advisory.
The new owner is Brady Hotels Ireland, run by an Australian-based developer from Co Cavan. At the time of the purchase, Tony Brady said the Slieve Russell would continue to be run by a local team. He pointed out that the resort employs hundreds of people locally, both full and part time, and 'is an important part of the community'.
With the collapse of the Quinn empire, the IBRC, formerly Anglo Irish Bank, assumed control of the Slieve Russell hotel when a share receiver was appointed to the hotel firm in April 2011. The business recorded operating profits of €1.88m in the 12 months to the end of June last, with directors stating that improved trading figures are a direct result of the capital investment programme which commenced in 2022 and continued throughout last year.
The directors state that 'additional costs were incurred during 2024 in preparing the underlying assets of the company for sale'. They state that 'the outlook for 2025 is positive, and trading in 2025 is expected to be in line with 2024'.
The directors state that the company has experienced significant inflationary increases, particularly in relation to payroll related costs. Numbers employed last year decreased by one from 272 to 271 as staff costs rose from €8.3m to €9.1m. The loss also takes account of non-cash depreciation costs of €1.4m. Aggregate pay to key management last year decreased from €718,000 to €673,000.
At the end of June last, the firm owed €68.2m to the IBRC and, subsequent to year end, the directors state that the loan liability owed by the company to IBRC was settled in full under the terms of a settlement deed and allowed the hotel sale to be concluded.
Other hotels that were once in the Quinn empire have also been sold in the last year by the IBRC. Hotel Prague was bought by a Czech property holding company, and Buswells Hotel on Molesworth Street in Dublin has been purchased by Roundstone Real Estate.
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