Directors of Tedcastle oil group tap €1.2m exit payments

Departing directors at the oil firm, Tedcastle Group, shared termination payments of €1.2m last year.

The pay-outs followed the purchase by Canada’s Irving Oil of the family-owned Tedcastle Group.

Irving had previously acquired the Whitegate oil refinery, in Cork, from Philips 66, in 2016.

The Tedcastle Group operates the Top Oil brand and new accounts for Hillingdon Investment Company Unlimited show the business posted a pre-tax loss of €4m in the 12 months to the end of March. Revenues had increased slightly to almost €1.1bn.

The business also owns a 55,000-tonne import terminal at Dublin Port and more than 200 service stations and 21 heating-oil depots.

The losses take account of the payments to directors, as well as reorganisation and transaction costs of €3.3m, linked to the Tedcastle purchase. In the accounts, the directors said that the business had a satisfactory performance. Eight directors stepped down from the board in January of last year.

Before taking account of the costs, Hillingdon posted an operating profit of €11.1m, which was down 11% on the previous year.

Staff numbers increased from 479 to 544, while staff costs went up from €24.4m to €32.4m, but included shares-based payments of €10.6m.

Pay to directors totalled €6.7m, including the termination payments of €1.25m and share-based payments of €4.3m. At the end of March 2019, Hillingdon had shareholder funds of €58.7m and held cash of €11m.