Revenues double to €5.4m at Kerry hotel — but all too late for Cullen

Revenues at the five-star Muckross Park Hotel have topped €5.4 million in its first year in receivership.

The income at the Co Kerry hotel is more than double the €2.77m in revenues it recorded in 2011 — the last period in which the Bill Cullen company that operated the hotel filed accounts.

However, the turnaround in the hotel’s fortunes has come too late for Mr Cullen and his partner, Jackie Lavin, who lost control of the hotel in a court battle with ACC last year.

Arising from the court battle win, ACC installed Declan Taite of Farrell Grants Sparks RSM as receiver. The latest receiver extract lodged by Mr Taite with the Companies Office shows that the hotel recorded revenues of €2.56m from September last to March of this year.

This followed revenues of €2.8m during the prior six months that covered the busy summer period.

The sharp increase in revenues over the past 12 months has come against the background of the number of tourist nights in Ireland last year increasing by 7.2%, generating a spend of €4.12bn.

The documents lodged by Mr Taite show payments between September 13 and March 12 totalled €2.79m, including €2m paid in ‘creditor and wage payments’, with €381,495 paid to the Collector General and ‘other costs’ totalling €347,445. Mr Cullen ploughed around €10m of his personal fortune into trying to make a success of the hotel that today employs around 100 people.

However, owed €9.2m by Muckross Park Hotel Ltd, ACC appointed Mr Taite as receiver on March 13, 2012. This was contested by Mr Cullen and Mr Taite was discharged as receiver two days later and an interim examiner was appointed.

Four weeks later, on application from the ACC, the High Court order discharging Mr Taite as receiver was vacated and the receivership resumed.

Speaking after the court ruling, Mr Cullen and Ms Lavin said they were devastated by the loss of the hotel, saying they felt “with even more uncertainty, entrepreneurs have no future in Irish life”. Mr Cullen— who also lost his Glencullen motor business in October 2012 and recently launched Bill Cullen Premier Cars — was not available for comment yesterday.