Bewley’s brews up €1.6m profit in spite of tough year

BEWLEY’S cafe on Grafton Street continued to perform well last year despite lower footfall and consumer spending.

Owners, the Campbell Bewley Group, recorded an increase in pre-tax profit from €1.5 million in 2008 to €1.6m last year on a group level.

However, the company said the financial performance is undermined by an excessive rent which was set during the “unsustainable property bubble caused by easy access to cheap credit”.