Profits at Athlone and Galway hotels group up 4%
The group is controlled by the O’Sullivan family and includes the 4-star Hodson Bay hotel outside Athlone, the 4-star Sheraton hotel in Athlone town, and the 4-star Galway Bay hotel.
New accounts filed by Shermond Holdings Ltd show revenues climbed 10% to €29.54m in the 12 months to the end of February.
Last year, the group had a setback in its plans to enter the booming hotel market in the capital when it failed to secure planning permission for a new 263-bedroom €40m hotel on the Coombe near St Patrick’s Cathedral.
An Taisce told An Bord Pleanala the scale of the plan was “grossly excessive”.
A new application is to be lodged. The accounts show that the group spent €18m on the purchase of new fixed assets last year.
The group posted an after-tax profit of €1.6m after paying corporation tax of €247,540.
At the end of last February, the group’s shareholder funds stood at €14.17m while its cash increased from €1m to €1.48m. Staff costs last year increased from €10.7m to €11.95m.
The group’s bank loans increased from €27.83m to €41.41m.
A note attached to the accounts says the drawdown of bank debt relates to the purchase of additional hotel buildings.
“The loans are secured by fixed and floating charge over the property,” the note says.
