Denis O'Brien's Algarve golf resort firm sees profits hit €7.2m

Mr O’Brien extending business footprint in Portugal in 2024 with the purchase of Conrad Algarve for €200m

Tue, 07 Oct, 2025 - 13:03

Gordon Deegan

Profits at the company that manages businessman, Denis O’Brien’s Quinta do Lago golf resort in the Algarve last year surged 52% to £6.28m (€7.22m) in 2024.

Accounts for UK-registered Algarve Golf Courses Ltd, show that a subsidiary that manages the complex in Portugal – Sociedade do Golfe da Quinta do Lago SA - closed the 2024 financial period with capital and reserves of £27.58m (€31.7m).

The directors for Algarve Golf Courses Ltd state that they were satisfied with the performance of the Sociedade do Golfe da Quinta do Lago in 2024.

Mr O’Brien acquired the Quinta do Lago resort in 1998, and has expanded it substantially in the years since. It comprises three golf courses, hotels, a sports campus, and residential units.

The bumper year for the business coincided with Mr O’Brien extending his business footprint in Portugal in 2024 where he completed the purchase of Conrad Algarve in Quinta do Lago for around €200m. The resort comprises the 134-room and 20-suite Conrad Algarve in Quinta do Lago which also includes a luxury spa, gym, and various restaurants.

The €200m purchase followed Mr O’Brien disposing of some of his Irish-based business interests in recent years including his shares in Independent News & Media, his stake in the Beacon Hospital, and his radio station group Communicorp.

At the end of 2024, Algarve Golf Courses had net assets of £7.27m (€8.36m).

Separately, accounts for another Denis O’Brien-owned entity, Catalunya Golf Ltd show that it recorded a pre-tax loss of £1.53m (€1.76m) last year, chiefly due to foreign exchange loss and finance expenses of £515,572 (€591,000). The firm is a holding company for companies engaged in the ownership and management of golf courses and the directors state both the level of business and the year end financial position were satisfactory.