‘Skeff’ owners pull in €1.5m despite €4m tax settlement
The business — in Galway’s Eyre Square — has been cashing in on Galway Race week, and new accounts just lodged with the Companies Office show that Skeffington Arms Ltd paid a dividend of €1.5m to its owners, John Callanan, Nicola Dalton and Siobhan Howley last year.
The dividend was paid to parent firm, Silver Alley Holdings Ltd, in which the 44-year-old Mr Callanan holds a controlling share.
The firm made the dividend pay-out as the company returned to profit — recording a €1.33m pre-tax profit in the 12 months to the end of September last year following a pre-tax loss of €240,165 in 2012.
Last December, the Revenue Commissioners confirmed that it reached a €4.13m settlement in relation to undeclared corporation tax, PAYE/PRSI, stamp duty and Vat with the company in the period July 1 to September 30 last.
The settlement was the second largest made in the quarter and was made up of tax of €1.8m, interest of €951,774 and penalties of €1.36m.
No reference is made to the settlement in the directors’ report. Instead, the directors state that “the results for the period and the financial position at the period-end were considered satisfactory by the directors, who expect growth in the foreseeable future”.
The report states that “the company’s sales have been exposed to the reduction in consumer demand in Ireland”.
“The company has been proactive in controlling costs,” the report said.
The return to profit for the Skeffington Arms is in contrast to Mr Callanan’s other hotel firm, Callanan Hotel Ltd that operates the four-star Prince of Wales hotel in Athlone.
Accounts just filed by Callanan Hotel Ltd show that it recorded a loss of €810,298 in 2013 with losses totalling €17.7m at the end of September last.
The firm had loans totalling €19.9m, made up of €13.5m in bank loans and €6.3m in other loans.
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