Group managing Shelbourne Hotel got €4.36m in Covid wage supports

The company managing the five-star Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin received €4.36 million in Covid supports under the Government's wage subsidy schemes last year.

This was equivalent to almost a third of the overall wages bill for Torriam Hotel Operating Company Ltd, which has a contract to manage the landmark hotel until 2026. The company said it received payments under both the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) and its predecessor, the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS), last year.

Torriam employed 342 people last year, down from 528 in 2019. Staff costs, including wages and salaries totalled €13.6 million, as against €14.8 million a year earlier.

Torriam, which is owned by Marriott International, recorded a €97,193 pretax loss last year as turnover fell from €15.1 million to €9.4 million due to the impact of the Covid crisis. The company ended the year with net liabilities of €9.9 million.

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Activity

While it reported a sharp decline in activity, Torriam said it continued to earn income from the provision of management services to the Shelbourne, which it said had covered the majority of its operating costs.

US real estate specialists, Kennedy Wilson assumed control of the St Stephen's Green hotel when it paid €110 million for debts attached to the property in 2014.

Recently filed accounts for KW Shelbourne Ops Ltd show it took a €30 million revenue hit due to the impact of Covid in 2020, with income falling by over 70 per cent to €12.2 million. Pre-tax losses rose to €8.5 million.

KW Irish Real Estate VII granted a major concession on the lease payments in light of the enforced closure of the hotel due to Covid-19 restrictions, the accounts reveal.