The Louis FitzGerald pub and hotel group, which owns Kehoe’s and the Stag’s Head in Dublin, last year sustained a €37 million hit to revenues due to the Covid-19 pandemic impact on the hospitality industry.
Accounts lodged by the group’s holding company, Burtse Ltd, show that the business recorded a pretax loss of €306,598 in the 12 months to the end of June last.
Over the 12 months, revenues reduced by 70 per cent from €53 million to €16 million. In its 2019 fiscal year prior to Covid, the group had revenues of €71.39 million.
Government restrictions resulted in the closure of the group’s pubs for much of the year and the group received Government Covid-19 grants of €5.72 million.
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A note with the accounts said the current situation was dynamic and there were “continuous uncertainties surrounding the duration of the pandemic, future disruptions to the hospitality industry and the industry’s speed of recovery”.
The accounts noted the group was “in a strong financial position to withstand potential future challenges in this context”.
“Management aims to increase the profitability of the company through increasing turnover and management of its operating costs,” the accounts said.
Pay to directors Louis Fitzgerald and his wife, Helen, declined from €408,345 to €318,292 last year.
The two lead the family-owned Louis Fitzgerald group where the Fitzgerald adult children now take a prominent role in the running of the business.
The group’s businesses include well-known Dublin city centre pubs the Stag’s Head, Kehoe’s, Bruxelles, The Gin Palace, Grand Central and Quays Temple Bar.
The group also operates An Poitín Stil, The Laurels, Palmerstown House, The Roost, Annie May’s, Carroll’s, The Arlington Hotel and The Louis Fitzgerald Hotel.
Numbers employed by the business decreased by 148 from 825 to 677 last year as staff costs, including directors’ pay, more than halved from €14.7 million to €5.8 million.
Burtse recorded the pretax loss after taking account of non-cash depreciation costs of €3.5 million.
Burtse enjoyed operating profits of €825,307 and paid out €1.13 million in interest payments to give the pretax loss of €306,598.
The hospitality group recorded a post-tax loss of €570,563 after paying out corporation tax of €263,965.
The business had shareholder funds of €42.55 million, including accumulated profits of €12.8 million.
Burtse’s cash funds reduced from €5.6 million to €1.34 million. Its total bank loans at the end of June last year had reduced from €43.5 million to €37.28 million.
