BANKS LOANS belonging to the company that owns the Gresham Hotel in Dublin and the Metropole Hotel in Cork have been transferred to the National Asset Management Agency, according to accounts just filed.
The continuation of property developer Bryan Cullen’s company, Precinct Investments group, as a going concern is contingent on the agency agreeing to provide finance, according to the group’s consolidated accounts.
The group produced an operating profit of €2.8 million during 2009 but finance costs of €9.3 million resulted in it suffering an overall loss of €6.47 million.
Precinct took the Gresham Hotel Group plc into private ownership in 2004 in a €117 million deal.
The Precinct group had bank loans of €146 million at the end of 2009. The group’s turnover fell to €18.58 million from €23.94 million the previous year. Accumulated profits at the end of 2009 were €70 million.
The group sold its London hotel, the Park Inn, during 2010 and the proceeds were used to pay down debt by €37 million. The group’s debt ratio is 124 per cent, according to the accounts. At the end of the year Mr Cullen had an outstanding interest-free loan out to the group of €27 million. The loan is subordinated to the group’s debt, according to the accounts.
The group has submitted business plans to Nama. Support from the agency combined with positive trading by the hotels would allow the business continue, according to the accounts. “Should group support by the National Asset Management Agency not continue the going concern basis of which these financial statements have been prepared may prove not to be appropriate,” it added.