Wright’s food and beverage business saw sales slump amid pandemic

Businesses in the Michael J Wright’s food and beverage group last year took a 40 per cent hit to revenue due to the Covid-19 pandemic. New accounts for Treasure Trail Holdings Ltd show the group, which operates outlets in Dublin including at the airport, recorded a €1 million pretax loss in the 12 months to the end of September last. That was a 42.5 per cent decrease on the pretax losses of €1.76 million recorded in 2020.

Revenue slumped 40 per cent to €9.97 million last year as the directors state that the initial impact of Covid-19 “has been severe”.

The Swords headquartered business has a €10 million plan before Fingal County Council, in a partnership with Tetrarch Capital, to redevelop Howth Castle into a retail, food and tourist destination.

Even after the revenue drop, the directors for Treasure Trail Holdings state they “are satisfied with the performance of the business given the challenges posed by Covid-19″.

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Numbers employed by the business fell from 195 to 119 and staff costs reduced by 26 per cent from €4.25 million to €3.14 million. The group’s subsidiaries include a firm that operates Marqette food hall and bar at Dublin Airport.

Directors’ pay last year declined by 30 per cent from €234,139 to €164,042 made up of remuneration of €118,654 and pension contributions of €45,388.

“In this period of great uncertainty, the directors took decisive action to protect the business by reducing costs and minimising cash burn to enable it to trade through Covid,” they said in the accounts. “A lean, flexible and resilient organisation has been established during the pandemic, whilst ensuring the group culture remains healthy and engaging.”

As restrictions eased, they said they are confident that the company will resume a more normalised level of trading.

During the year the business received €2.74 million in Government Covid-19 grants.