Ashford Castle records pre-tax losses of €39 million for 2008 and 2009

ONE of the country’s best known hotels, the five-star Ashford Castle in Co Mayo recorded combined pre-tax losses totalling €39 million in 2009 and 2008.

Accounts just filed by Ashford Castle Estate Ltd, (ACEL) show that €35m of the losses are as a result of an impairment writedown on the company’s fixed assets.

Filings for 2009 and 2008 have just been filed to the Companies Office and they show that ACEL recorded a pre-tax loss of €16.1m in 2009 and this followed a pre-tax loss of €23.1m in the 13 months to the end of December 2008.

The filings show that the company wrote down the value of its fixed assets by €21.97m in 2008 and €14.9m in 2009. ACEL also wrote off €830,017 in 2008 and €547,789 in 2009 owed to it by connected companies.

Ashford Castle is owned by Galway businessman Gerry Barrett who also operates the G Hotel in Galway city. Auditors for the company, Deloitte & Touche state that ACEL is dependent on the financial support of NAMA, its non-NAMA bank and the continuing support of its fellow group companies to be able to continue as a going concern.

The directors disclose that ACEL owes €29.8m to other companies within Mr Barrett’s Edward Holdings Group and the accounts show the company owes an additional €29.2m in bank loans.

The bank loans are secured in part by a personal guarantee of €10m by Mr Barrett with an additional security placed on a mortgage protection policy of Gerry Barrett for €7m.

The two directors of the firm are Mr Barrett and Catherine Barrett.

A note to the accounts states: “Bank loans in those group companies, together with other group loans, were transferred to NAMA in February 2010. The group has submitted a business plan to NAMA. The successful implementation of the business plan is dependent on the support of NAMA and discussions with NAMA in this regard are ongoing.”

The company — which employs 138 people with a staff cost bill of €3.8m in 2009 — had accumulated losses of €39.2m at the end of December 2009 with net liabilities of the same amount. Commenting on the losses for 2009 and 2008, the directors state: “While these losses are significant, they are largely due to a high level of debt and asset writedown.

The directors state that Ashford “continues to be the pre-eminent property in Ireland’s hotel industry”.