€1.5m operating loss for Harcourt

HARCOURT Developments, the property firm backed by RTÉ presenter Mike Murphy, has swung into a loss.

The company, which is involved in developments including hotels, shopping centres and office parks in Ireland, Britain and the Caribbean, said its 2003 results were hit because of a number of properties had yet to be sold and it was racking up a large interest bill.

It made an operating loss of €1.5 million compared to a €3m profit the previous year. At pre-tax level, it made a loss of €9.8m, a 30% increase on the loss in 2002. "The loss arises largely due to interest charges on developments, a number of which are let, not yet sold, together with costs associated with the launch of a new hotel in Antigua," the accounts said. Turnover for the year was down from €42m to €34m. Revenues from recent income rose from €14m to €17.6m. Hotel income fell from €3.3m to €2.8m, while turnover from the development and sale of properties plummeted from €24.7m to €13.5m.

The bulk of business is done in Ireland, though the accounts shows that operating losses from the development of its hotel resort in the Caribbean rose from €1m to €2.4 million.

The company is owned by Pat Doherty. Also on the board is Andrew Parker Bowles, the former husband of Camilla Parker Bowles; Phil Flynn, the former chairman of ICC Bank. Mike Murphy is an executive director. Directors' pay for the year fell from €2.48m to €1.13m. The company increased its workforce from 222 to 273, though its wages bill for the year dropped from €6.4m to €6.2m.

The directors also said the future for the company is bright. Its Park West project, comprising a mix of office residential space in Dublin, is under construction and it has additional land for future building.

"The improved transport links, which include new roads over the railway line and Grand Canal, together with a new railway station, will greatly enhance the scheme."

The group also has substantial land holdings at nearby Citywest which are at the planning stage.