Messi and co help boost Irish sports firm’s profits

Pre-tax profits at the UK arm of the Sligo sports group that counts Real Madrid and Barcelona amongst its clients increased fourfold to £1.1m in 2015.

Support in Sport (SIS) manufactures pitch surfaces for some of the world’s highest-profile sporting venues and events — including Barcelona’s Nou Camp stadium and Real Madrid’s Bernabeu ground.

The company, established by Sligo native George Mullan in 2001, has also worked with the organisers of the Six Nations rugby championship, the Africa Cup of Nations, the Fifa World Cup, and the Uefa Champions League.

Newly-filed accounts show SIS’ UK profits soared by over 320% in 2015, with revenues for the year jumping by 35% to £18.59m.

In the accounts, the company said it aims to grow income each year and profitability, by “maintaining its first class reputation within the industry for installing pitches and by continuing to improve the quality of artificial grass produced by developing new and improved products”.

At the end of 2015, the UK arm of the group had net assets of £2.43m while its cash pile decreased from £861,553 to £538,408.

Numbers employed rose from 61 to 70, with staff costs at £2.4m for the year. Directors remuneration totalled £164,449.

In 2015, SIS enjoyed a post-tax profit of €952,402 after paying corporation tax of £147,757. The profit takes account of non-cash deprecation costs of £156,257.

On its future developments, SIS company directors said the business will benefit from the momentum it has built up over the past number of years to drive it forward.